Most people choose WordPress because it is simple to set up and a versatile content management system. You’ll get a fully functional website or e-commerce store in a few simple clicks instead of paying thousands to a developer to create something from scratch. While WordPress is the ideal choice for your online presence, it’s not foolproof. This article will show 7 of the most common mistakes bloggers make when creating their first WordPress blog and some tips to avoid these errors.
In other words, plenty could go wrong with a WordPress blog or site, and you are faced with various choices from start to finish. Now that the internet is so saturated with information and more threats are possible, you must make deliberate choices that will give you the most robust and secure blog for your efforts.
Avoid Mistakes When Creating Your WordPress Blog
1. Choosing a Theme That’s “Pretty” But Not Functional
Downloading a “free WordPress theme” online might be tempting because it looks cool or has some elements you want. The problem with these themes is that they might have links you can’t remove or even contain malicious code.
While there are plenty of free WordPress themes available from reputable sources, you must find a WordPress theme that is functional as well as aesthetically pleasing. If you plan to purchase a theme, read reviews and research the designer first so that you don’t waste money and make a poor choice.
Ideally, you want to find a customizable theme for your needs. Can you match it to your brand? Is it compatible with the plugins that you want to use?
When discussing function, every theme today should also be responsive, meaning it works across all types of devices. Run the theme on Google’s mobile-friendly testing site to confirm this.
2. Failing to Use a Security Plugin
Your WordPress site’s security is something you’ll want to take seriously. No one thinks their site will get hacked, but WordPress is the CMS that is the most common target of hackers. Fortunately, you can protect your site with a few simple proactive steps. We already mentioned one when we discussed your username and password strength.
The other is to use a feature-rich WordPress security plugin. There are free and paid versions of these plugins, but a reputable hosting company such as InMotion hosting will give you access to Jetpack, which gets the job done admirably.
Some of the security features offered by the Jetpack plugin include:
- Secure Sign On
- Downtime Monitoring
- Plugin Updates
- Protect
- Backups
- Spam Protection
- Security Scanning
3. Keeping the Default Permalink Structure
Your site’s permalinks are the URL structure that will appear in the user’s web browser search bar. They are important to your site because permalinks can be random or descriptive numbers. The latter is more SEO-friendly.
Unfortunately, the default permalink structure with WordPress isn’t what you want.
While this will work, it tells the visitor and the search engines nothing about what is on that page. A better choice is to use the post name (/%postname%/) as your default setting so that your URL will look like this: http://www.yoursite.com/sample-post/
4. Using “Admin” as Your Username
By default, WordPress will assign “Admin” as your username when your site is first created. Unfortunately, too many users either like the sound of this or don’t bother to change it. The problem is that hackers target WordPress blogs and sites with this username because they only need to get past the password instead of two login elements.
By choosing something else during the setup process, the risk of them hacking your site and making your username more relevant decreases. If you’ve already created your site with the “Admin” option, this guide explains how to make the change.
Along with the same token, you should be paying particular attention to the strength of your password when you create your site. Choose a strong password that isn’t something you normally use for other websites. WordPress even tells you the strength of your selection or will auto-generate one for you if you wish.
5. Not Using a Caching Plugin
If you’re new to WordPress, you probably don’t understand the concept of caching, but this is vital. Page load speed matters in today’s online landscape, and a caching plugin can seriously help your site’s page load time.
One of the best ways to improve the user experience, and please Google, is to install a caching plugin. Some of the top choices include W3 Total Cache.
While another recommendation is to sign up with a CDN, some hosting platforms include a free CDN as part of their packages.
6. Not Setting Up Regular Backups
Few things are more frustrating than losing all of your hard work. Maybe you changed your WordPress site, which didn’t go as planned. Or you accidentally delete content you realize you need or, worse, find that you’ve been hacked and everything is changed or missing.
If you’ve set up regular backups on your site, restoring it to an earlier state will be much easier. Without this service, you’ll have to re-create what has been destroyed or is missing manually, so avoid these errors when creating a WordPress blog.
You have several options. You can manually backup your site before making any changes or use a WordPress backup plugin to do this automatically.
7. Mistakes Activating Unnecessary Plugins On Your WordPress Blog
Plugins are great, but too many will slow down your site and make it vulnerable to hackers. If you’re not using them or decide that they are unnecessary, it’s best to deactivate and uninstall them.
We’ve already discussed some plugins that you might want to have on board (backup, security, caching), but some of the others include SEO and image optimization. Before downloading other plugins, consider the website speed and performance cost.
Conclusion About Mistakes Creating WordPress Blog
Creating a website can be compared to building a house. Your foundation is your hosting plan, and then you will create a WordPress site that includes the features necessary to provide a positive search engine and user experience. We hope this article on seven of the most common mistakes bloggers make when creating their first WordPress blog with our tips to avoid these errors has been of help to you.