10 Tips to Build a Great WordPress Website
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that enables you to create a website or blog from scratch, or to improve an existing website. It’s a popular platform that is easy to use, yet flexible enough to accommodate custom designs and advanced functionality.
While there are many different ways you can use WordPress, in general, it’s a good idea to follow some basic principles to ensure that your website is effective, user-friendly, and search engine friendly.
Here are 10 tips to help you build a better WordPress website:
- Choose the Right WordPress Host
- Pick a Good Domain Name
- Install WordPress in the Root Domain
- Use a WordPress Theme that is Mobile Responsive
- Install Important WordPress Plugins
- Optimize Your Images
- Use Heading Tags Appropriately
- Structure Your Permalinks
- Create a Sitemap
- Set up Google Analytics
Let’s dig into each one of these tips in detail
1. Choose the Right WordPress Host
Hosting is one of the most important factors to consider when building a WordPress website. Your host will provide the server environment that will store your website files and enable visitors to view your site.
When choosing a WordPress host, look for a provider that offers features such as one-click WordPress installation, automatic updates, daily backups, and 24/7 support. It’s also important to choose a hosting plan that is scalable so that you can easily upgrade as your website grows.
2. Pick a Good Domain Name
Your domain name is your website’s address on the internet. It’s important to choose a domain name that is short, easy to remember, and relevant to your business or website topic.
If you’re having trouble coming up with a good domain name, try using a domain name generator to brainstorm ideas. Once you’ve settled on a domain name, be sure to register it for at least one year to avoid any problems down the road.
3. Install WordPress in the Root Domain
When you install WordPress, you have the option of installing it in a subdirectory (e.g., www.example.com/blog) or in the root domain (e.g. www.example.com). It’s generally a good idea to install WordPress in the root domain so that your blog or website is accessible at the primary domain name.
4. Use a WordPress Theme that is Mobile Responsive
With the proliferation of mobile devices, it’s important to make sure that your WordPress website is designed to be viewed on all types of devices. A mobile responsive theme will automatically adjust the layout of your site to fit any screen size.
5. Install Important WordPress Plugins
WordPress plugins are pieces of software that extend the functionality of your WordPress website. There are plugins available for just about anything you can imagine, from social media integration to security.
Some of the most important plugins to install on a WordPress website include:
Anti-spam: Spam comments are a common problem on WordPress websites. Akismet is a popular plugin that helps to filter out spam comments.
Caching: Caching plugins help to improve the performance of your website by creating a static version of your pages that is served to visitors. W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache are two popular WordPress caching plugins.
Security: WordPress websites are often the target of hackers. There are many security plugins available to help protect your site, such as Wordfence and iThemes Security.
6. Optimize Your Images
Images are an important part of any website, but they can also make your site slow to load if they are not properly optimized. When adding images to your WordPress website, be sure to resize and compress them first. You can use an image editor such as Photoshop, or a free online tool like TinyPNG.
7. Use Heading Tags Appropriately
Heading tags (H1-H6) are used to structure the content on your pages. Search engines give more weight to content that is wrapped in H1 tags, so it’s important to use them wisely.
In general, you should only use one H1 tag per page, and it should be used to wrapping your most important keyword or phrase. H2 tags can be used for subtitles, and H3-H6 tags can be used for sub-headings.
8. Structure Your Permalinks
Permalinks are the permanent URLs of your individual blog posts and pages. By default, WordPress uses an “ugly” permalink structure that includes the date and author name in the URL. For example:
www.example.com/2017/01/01/post-name
It’s a good idea to change the permalink structure to something more SEO friendly, such as:
www.example.com/post-name
You can change the permalink structure in the WordPress settings.
9. Create a Sitemap
A sitemap is an XML file that contains a list of all the pages and posts on your website. Creating a sitemap helps search engines to more easily index your website.
There are many WordPress plugins that will automatically generate a sitemap for you, such as Yoast SEO and Google XML Sitemaps.
10. Set Up Google Analytics
Google Analytics is a free service that enables you to track the traffic to your website. It’s important to track your website traffic so that you can see how well your site is performing and make necessary changes.
Adding Google Analytics to a WordPress website is fairly simple. First, you’ll need to create a Google Analytics account and obtain your tracking code. Then, you can install a plugin like Google Analytics for WordPress to automatically add the tracking code to your website.
Last Words
Building a WordPress website doesn’t have to be difficult. By following the tips in this article, you can create a website that is user-friendly, search engine friendly, and mobile responsive. For more information about WordPress website development and design, visit our resource section. You can also contact to us directly. Our talented staff that is always ready to help you includes custom support representative, full-stack developers, animators and designers. Therefore, you can find all solutions here, at “The WordPress Websites”, from WordPress and custom development and design to marketing and lead generation. We are the one-window solution for all your digital needs.