1. Choose the best web hosting plan
WordPress (content management system) is an open-source CMS. It’s an open-source CMS (content management system) that allows you to create and manage websites. WordPress can be used to create a personal blog or ecommerce website.
However, the platform does not host websites. This misconception is common among prospective website owners.
WordPress suggests three web hosting options.
You can use any web host that meets the WordPress minimum hosting requirements. Your host must have PHP version 7.3 or higher. It must have a MySQL version of at least 5.6 and MariaDB version of at least 10.1. You host must also support HTTPS.
There are many options when it comes to web hosting. Once you have found the best Web Hosting Provider, it is time to decide what type of hosting you require. The most popular choices are shared hosting, VPS hosting and dedicated servers.
It is important to choose the right host and plan from the start. You need to find a plan that provides enough resources for your traffic needs.
Hosting plans can lead to slow loading, crashes, downtimes, and other issues. It can also be difficult to change hosts later.
2. Choose a quality theme
There are many options when it comes choosing a WordPress template. The WordPress theme directory lets you browse through the options.
Too many people make the error of picking a theme too quickly. This is not going to work in your favor.
There are many themes available. Some themes are not available directly through the WordPress theme directory.
ThemeForest has nearly 46,000 themes available. You might need to pay a premium price in order to obtain a high-quality theme. The majority of themes are affordable and not too expensive.
The type of website should also influence the theme. The best WordPress themes for blogs may be different from the most ecommerce WordPress themes.
Live demos are a great way to test out themes. This will allow you to test a theme before installing it. You’ll get a better understanding of how a theme looks from the perspective of the user.
This should be obvious, but it is important to ensure that all themes you install are mobile-responsive. If the theme cannot be displayed correctly on mobile devices, it is useless.
3. Google Analytics
Without measuring its performance metrics, it’s difficult to gauge how your site is performing. WordPress is not enough to give you enough information.
Installing a Google Analytics plug will give you additional insight into the behavior of your site visitors on your pages.
MonsterInsights are top options to consider.
It has been installed more than 2,000,000 times. It is the most widely used Google Analytics plugin today.
Once you have installed this, you will be able to access audience reports, behavior reports and content reports as well as ecommerce reports (if relevant).
The best thing about using a Google Analytics plugin to track your data is the ability to access it directly from your WordPress admin dashboard. This is a better way to view your data than having to navigate between different sites and platforms in order to find it.
4. Install a plugin to improve SEO
You’ll need to use a WordPress plugin in addition to Google Analytics. There are many options, but I recommend Yoast Search SEO.
Your WordPress website won’t receive much organic traffic if it doesn’t have a solid SEO strategy. This is essential for survival in this day and age.
It is not enough to assume that your content will bring people to your website. SEO must be a priority, no matter what kind of website you have or in what industry.
This plugin makes it easier to optimize your website for SEO.
It will analyse keywords and content to make sure you are taking the correct approach. Yoast can also help you manage the technical aspects of SEO like sitemaps and robots.txt files.
5. Use fewer plugins
This may seem contradictory to the previous two tips. However, you must limit your plugin use.
Google Analytics and SEO plugins, along with other plugins that add functionality to your site, are both essential. You can find great plugins for:
- Caching
- Formulas
- Directory
- Book Bookings
- Memberships
- Popups
- Backups
- Security
You don’t have to use a plugin for each category. Popup plugins are not necessary if you’re not planning to add popups on your website. If you have a business that could benefit from a bookings plugin, don’t install it.
Too many WordPress plugins can slow down your website. Your website can be slowed down by adding extra code to a plugin.
More plugins doesn’t always mean a more functional website. Don’t install too many plugins. You should only install plugins that you will actually use.
6. Images of the Compress
Images, like excessive plugins, can slow down your website. However, you shouldn’t be afraid to use lots of images in your content.
You should use as many images possible on your website. Use them in your blog posts, landing pages, product pages and descriptions.
There aren’t many situations where an image wouldn’t be appropriate for your site.
These media files can be slow to load. Every image should be compressed before being published.
We recommend the Kraken Image Optimizer.
This example shows Kraken reducing the file size by 61%. This tool is great because it allows you to compress all images on the internet without you having to download any additional software.
You can do this in WordPress by installing a plugin.
7. Modify your permalinks
Are you familiarized with permalinks
This is the portion of the web address after the domain name. These web addresses are for each landing page or blog post.
When you create a page or post in WordPress, it automatically generates an appropriate permalink. These defaults must be modified before publishing the page.
It is extremely valuable to have a custom-crafted permalink. This allows your visitors to understand the page’s content without actually having to read it.
These files are organized and can be used for both search engines and site visitors to access content.
Navigate to “Settings” from your dashboard to modify your permalinks. You will see a button called “Permalinks”. You should choose the “Post Name” option as it will have the greatest SEO value.
8. Prioritize safety
The popularity of WordPress was discussed earlier. It’s common for websites to use WordPress, so hackers are also likely to target WordPress sites.
It is important to upgrade your WordPress version every time a new version comes out. This will prevent hackers and bugs. However, this alone will not be enough to secure your site.
To increase the security of your WordPress website, there are additional steps you can take.
First, you need an SSL certificate. This certificate will encrypt all information on your website, including customer data. An SSL certificate is a standard feature of the best web hosting services, such as those we have mentioned.
Your site should be backed up on a regular basis. You don’t want your site to go down and cause you to have to rebuild from scratch. You can also install plugins to protect your site.
9. Learn how to use meta tags and heading tags
These meta tags appear in search engine results pages (SERPs).
They are something I am sure you have seen before.
Heading tags are used in your content. This blog post, for example, has 12 tags. The title tag is at the top and the headings for each of the 10 tips are at the bottom.
Both title and meta tags offer SEO benefits. Website visitors can also use them to make it easier to consume content.
Imagine reading this post without the headers. It wouldn’t be as simple.
It ranks the significance of the tag on the page based on the type of header used. This will also affect the size of your text. An H1 tag, for example, is the most important and largest, while an H6 tags is smaller and more important.
You can review my guide on how heading tags are used to increase search engine traffic . A guide on how meta tags can be used for SEO and CTR was also written by me.
These are both valuable resources for your WordPress SEO strategy.
10. Get rid of clutter
WordPress offers many customizable options to make your website unique. You can add ads, banners and widgets to your website.
All of these add-ons can only make your website look more cluttered. Your page will look unprofessional and trustworthy.
Your website visitors will find it distracting to add too many elements. This makes it difficult for visitors to focus and your content won’t be consumed. They won’t click on your CTAs.
Although it may be tempting to use all that WordPress has to give, there are some cases where less is more.
You can hire a web design expert to help you with any web design related queries!
