WordPress Mistakes And How to Fix Them — Part 2

In a continuation from WordPress Mistakes And How to Fix Them — Part 1, where I talked about the things that are the most common WordPress Mistakes, here is part 2 that covers the more advanced issues and fixes. I highly recommend that you hire a competent WordPress developer to address these issues and common WordPress mistakes.

Not resizing images for web upload

The issue: Images are often the culprit to a slow site and you should seriously consider preparing your images for upload by reducing their size. This can be done either by using an editor like Photoshop, or a plugin to resize images so they’re not taking up a huge chunk of space and causing your site to run super slow.

The fix: If you’re working in Photoshop, go to Image -> Image Size. Make sure the resolution is set to 72. You’ll then want to reduce the width of the image if applicable. 2,500 pixels on the wide side is ideal for displaying images as large on the screen—you can decrease this size to around 600 to 1,000 pixels on the wide side for regular site display.

This will reduce the file size drastically, resulting in less bandwidth required to upload images whenever someone visits your client’s site. Always set the resolution to 72 pixels/inch for web upload. If “Resample” is checked, the image’s dimensions will automatically be reduced when you adjust the resolution. Another fix is to use a WordPress plugin that optimizes images for you, like WP Smush.

Adding customizations to a parent theme

The issue: If you’re looking to customize a theme, doing so could result in a whole lot of headache if you modify the theme directly. Changing a theme’s code can create unwanted changes and potentially cause downtime for your site.

The fix: The safest way to edit a theme is with a child theme, which takes the functionality of the parent theme. A child theme allows you to make changes without ruining your original theme’s code, ensuring your modifications aren’t lost. See here for a useful tutorial on creating a child theme.

Failure to use a staging environment

The issue: Say you want to test a theme, plugin, or custom code on your site? It would be unwise to make these changes directly to the live site—you won’t be too happy if your website crashes because you’re tweaking things on the back end.

The fix: Before deploying changes to a live site, the best practice is to use a staging environment to test any changes before going public. Quality hosting providers like WP Engine offer free staging environments. Every site hosted on WP Engine has three different environments: development, staging, and production, providing customers with the needed flexibility to build and test new projects. There are also a number of plugins that enable testing environments, or you can set one up yourself from scratch.

Using the default admin username

The issue: This is a BIG no-no since about 2015, so you’ve had 5 years to correct your bad habits. By default, after WordPress is installed the username is “admin,” which is troublesome in terms of security. Hackers can easily guess that name and take control of your website.

The fix: During installation, you’ll be given the opportunity to change the admin name to something unique. If you’re already past the point of installation and need to change your default username, see here for some tips on removing the admin account in WordPress.

Using a weak password is one of the biggest WordPress mistakes

The issue: People usually create a weak password because they don’t want to forget it. However, a good password should be random and complex, not predictable or simple. Remember, the easier your password is for you to remember, the easier it will be for hackers to perform brute-force attacks and guess your password.

The fix: A strong password should include a minimum of eight characters, an uppercase letter, a lowercase letter, a number, and a special character. Try using a strong password generator if you need help coming up with a hack-proof password. To protect your passwords even further, try enabling two-factor authentication.

To keep track of all passwords, I use Dashlane Online Wallet – Check it out here!

Failing to be selective about who gets admin privileges

The issue: Giving admin rights to just anybody is like giving a kid the keys to your car. It’s extremely important that you don’t give admin rights to the wrong person. You should only give admin rights to site owners and developers who work with the back end of the website.

The fix: To change user roles and permissions, you can use a plugin like a User Role Editor or see here for additional information: User Roles on WordPress.

Accidently blocking search engines

The issue: Certain WordPress settings can impair your site’s ability to be found by search engines. If you’re ready for your site to be found by a larger audience, you’ll want to ensure that a certain box isn’t checked within your Settings to make it SEO-friendly.

The fix: To find out if you’ve made this mistake, look in your WordPress dashboard and go to Settings -> Reading. Make sure the box next to “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” is not checked. When this selection is checked, it suppresses the site’s page-rank, telling search engines not to inspect the site’s content. (You’ll want it checked if your site is still under development).

Using poor/cheap web hosting

The issue: You might want to keep costs low, but choosing a generic
web host to power WordPress site is like buying cheap fuel
for a Ferrari. Your WordPress site represents your business,
your brand, your portfolio, and so on. Poor performance and
downtime reflect poorly on you and your brand and could end
up costing you more money in the long run.

The fix: Find a hosting provider that specializes in building digital
experiences on WordPress. Make sure your provider offers
services for caching, uptime, security, amazing customer
support, and expertise when it comes to building future-proof
WordPress sites. Thousands of brands and agencies rely on
WP Engine’s Digital Experience Platform for WordPress to power
amazing websites for them and their clients. WP Engine also
offers the largest Agency Partner Progam for WordPress, which
means agencies can leverage amazing tools and partnerships to
grow their customer base and delight current clients.

The bottom line to all this is that outside of a custom-coded website, a  WordPress website is an incredible and powerful extensible framework that allows businesses of all sizes to build and manage a website that can serve all their needs. However, if as a business owner you plan on doing this yourself, unless you are a WordPress website developer,  like any business-level solution, you should hire a professional to ensure you are not making the most common WordPress mistakes.

So, if you have a website that is built, or you need full website development Let’s have a no-obligation/no-cost phone chat about your ideas.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Sheri Goesen 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
Working with Cortex Marketing has been an outstanding experience. They completely rebuilt our website, making it professional, user-friendly, and helpful with our new branding. They also resolved the multiple domain listing issues we were struggling with, and enhanced our website content so that it better reflects who we are and what we do. Cortex brought much-needed continuity to our social media messaging, ensuring a consistent and professional presence across platforms. On top of that, their creative work has really elevated our marketing. They produced excellent testimonial videos, organized great team photos (even seamlessly adding in a staff member who couldn’t make it to the photo shoot), and created sharp graphics, like placing our NSMR logo on the various recycling bins, which added polish and credibility to our materials. Cortex Marketing goes above and beyond, and their attention to detail really shows. I would highly recommend their services to any business looking to strengthen its marketing presence. Will is the best and my forever go to when I need guidance! — Sheri Goesen, Office Manager, North Shore Metal Recycling
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Raven Nyberg 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
William is excellent to work with! Has brilliant ideas, and designs amazing websites. It was a pleasure doing business with him!
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 janie peery 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
We have had Will work on our computers, twice in person and once via telephone. He is.professional and very pleasant to work with. He not only fixes our problems he shows us how to he did it. We will continue to use him for our computer needs. Thank you Will
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Damian 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
Will is very experienced and was able to provide meaningful feedback at a professional level. Recommended!
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Patrick McConnell 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
Atlantis Fiber has been working closely with William (Will) Dickinson and his marketing firm, Cortex Marketing, since 2017 and we have not even once considered looking elsewhere ever since. Will's commitment to client service & our relationship is second to none and he consistently delivers on time and with results that go above and beyond expectations. He has provided Atlantis Fiber with a multitude of services from website and social media design and content creation to strategic marketing plans and even lead generation support for our sales efforts. Will has proven to be a veritable "Swiss army knife" of capabilities and an extremely versatile and talented guy who's been instrumental in helping Atlantis Fiber create and develop our brand. We fully recommend William (Will) Dickinson and his marketing firm, Cortex Marketing. Patrick McConnell President/CEO Atlantis Fiber
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Andrew Caroon 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
Will does a great job of breaking down what you do and clarifying your message to your clients. Even if you think your message if clear already, Will has the skill to make your message even stronger to help you stand out in whatever your industry may be. Can't recommend enough. Thanks Will!
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Wave Web Studio 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
Will is very skilled at discovering the core purpose and values of my business. He knows the right questions to ask and when to dig for answers. I felt he overdelivered in our session and I walked away with a ton of value.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Blake Allen 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
William has a fantastic process and I saw results almost instantly. I highly recommend working with Coretex Marketing.
  
 
  
 
 
 
 Posted on Google  
 
  
 
 
 Chris 
 
 
 
 Trustindex verifies that the original source of the review is Google. 
I have had multiple meetings with William at Cortex Marketing.  He has been extremely helpful in assisting me with clearly communicating what I want to say about my business.  This allowed me to focus on what I do and why I got into business in the first place, which was not to write about it.  I really appreciate his fresh perspective and taking this weight off my shoulders.  Besides that, he is great to work with.  Thanks again, William, I look forward to the next time we get together !
  
 
  
 
 
 
 
    
 
 Verified by Trustindex  
Trustindex verified badge is the Universal Symbol of Trust. Only the greatest companies can get the verified badge who has a review score above 4.5, based on customer reviews over the past 12 months. Read more