WordPress Mistakes are all too common. While WordPress has evolved into a massively popular Content Management System (CMS), people still make mistakes when they put it to use—it’s only human. Whether you work at a digital agency that focuses on WordPress projects, or you’re a content creator using WordPress to build world-class content, there may be some missteps you’re making that you’re unaware of.
Installing too many plugins
The issue: Think minimal when it comes to installing plugins. The WordPress repository contains more than 50,000 plugins, which might make you feel like a kid in a candy store and want to try them all. But if you install too many plugins, it’ll cause your site to bloat and run slower than a herd of snails travelling through peanut butter. (Okay…maybe not *that* slow, but you get the gist.)
The fix: Wisely choose the plugins you install, and be sure to uninstall those
not in use. Ask yourself, is this necessary to the functionality of my
client’s site (or my site)? See here for more in-depth tips on how to pick the right WordPress plugins.
Not optimizing content for SEO
The issue: Publishing a piece of content without putting thought into SEO is simply a missed opportunity. To increase traffic and make sure your content is found by search engines, it’s crucial you prepare your written content and images with SEO in mind.
The fix: Install a WordPress SEO plugin like Yoast (see this beginner’s guide on how to use Yoast). Yoast will up your SEO game by giving you helpful tips on how to make your content more likely to rank on Google.
Neglecting to back-up a site
The issue: Failure to consistently back-up your site(s) is like spending months writing a novel and never hitting “save” on your valued work. Creating a backup of your work is crucial so you don’t lose anything should an outage or other issues occur.
The fix: Some hosting companies like WP Engine provide daily automatic (or on-demand) WordPress backups so you don’t have to worry about doing it yourself. At Cortex, an auto script gets written with all hosting & development packages or you can use a Plugin to do your backups for a recurring fee.
Not changing the default permalink structure
The issue: By default, the permalink structure in WordPress isn’t optimized for SEO. You’ll want to change yours or your clients’ site’s permalink structure to get better article rankings, which is fairly easy to do.
The fix: To change the permalink structure in WordPress, go to Settings
-> Permalinks and select “Post name.” If the site has old content, you’ll then want to redirect old permalinks to the new ones. Yoast has an awesome redirect tool you can use to generate redirects from your old permalink structure to a new one.
Ignoring WordPress core, theme, and plugin updates
The issue: This is one of the most dangerous WordPress mistakes! Running an outdated version of WordPress is like opening the front door of your site to hackers. Plugins, themes, and WordPress sites that aren’t up-to-date present security vulnerabilities—these outdated files are traceable, and basically, let the bad guys in.
The fix: Be sure to keep your client’s plugins, themes, and WordPress core up to date. Within your dashboard, next to “Updates” and “Plugins” there will be a version number that appears in any of your plugins (or WordPress core) that need to be updated.
Certain hosting providers will automatically update WordPress core for your clients’ site(s), making your life easier. there are also plans with sites like WP Engine where they have a Smart Plugin Manager, which takes the hassle out of plugin maintenance by performing plugin updates automatically.
Changing a post’s URL after it’s been published
The issue: It can be tempting to go into an article and change its URL when updating an old blog post or page, but this is something you and your clients should 100% avoid it. By changing the post slug, you break all existing links to that post, and any old links will lose traffic and present a bad user experience, often in the form of a 404 error (page/file not found).
It should be noted that too many 404 errors will also damage your reputation with the search engines.
The fix: Before publishing an article, be certain the post slug is the way you want it. In addition, if you’ve installed Yoast SEO, it’ll give you tips for URL optimization, like removing “stop” words and shortening the post slug.
Using bad (or no) visuals
The issue: Images are imperative to holding a reader’s attention within a text-heavy article. Studies show content with visuals gets 94% more views than those without. In addition, the human brain processes visuals 60,000 times faster than text. Therefore, you should include images within your content as deemed appropriate to gain readership.
The fix: If paying for a stock photography membership is out of the question, there are numerous free image options out there. Unsplash.com supplies high-quality, professional imagery, but other options include Flickr.com and more. Just be sure to give attribution to the photographer when required.
To chat about any of these WordPress Mistakes And How to Fix Them, set up a time for a free chat or call me direct at 1- 888-502-3523
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