WordPress Tips

NOYO Web Development solves many problems for our WordPress clients each week, so we decided to pull together some top tips for entrepreneurs using WordPress.

Keep it Streamlined

WordPress is built to be lean and clean, yet robust enough to power over 25% of all websites worldwide. As a WordPress user, you want to keep your dashboard streamlined, or clean, to utilize that power. This means:

• You need to keep the WordPress core up-to-date manually or with a auto-update feature
• Delete or publish trackbacks and comments
• Update the theme when an update is made
• Uninstall old or unused plugins or themes
• Update your plugins when an update is available

If you are using custom plugins or themes, keep the developer in the loop. They can build child themes or create new plugins rather than changing the code in the original extension. While it’s a little technical, if makes sense over time. Dashboards that are not kept up-to-date are more prone to hacks.

Keep Your WordPress Site Secure

WordPress has some of the best security, but sites still get hacked on occasion. If it happens to your site, the mess can be a real problem to clean up.

We recommend that you take the following actions to keep your WordPress site secure:

• Ensure you have auto-backup. You can find a plugin, or have the host perform the function. Having restoration data should always be part of your security strategy
• Use a strong password with multiple characters, numbers, and symbols
• Avoid using the admin user for content creation. Create a specific user name and remove the default
• If you host doesn’t offer security tools, you should consider a security plugin
• Delete old installations of WordPress from your hosting account. These are vulnerable to hacking

We have more recommendations for you, but definitely start with these. Keep WordPress clean and use superior security tools and services to help improve performance.

Speed Defines Everything

A delay of 1 second in load time can result in a 7% loss in conversions. Faster is better in the warp speed world of ecommerce. Here are several tips for improving speed on your WordPress site:

• Be sure you are using an excellent host that can provide load times around 1-2 seconds
• The Pingdom tool can give your site speed. Shoot for under 2 seconds. 5 to 7 seconds is ok, but anything over 7 seconds should be addressed
• Large images will significantly slow speed. Ensure you have optimized the images prior to loading them to the website.
• WP Smush it can optimize your larger images
• Try WP Total Cache if your host doesn’t offer caching

Start with these tips, and then move on to the next ones below.

Invest for the Long Term

Free doesn’t mean WordPress is cheap. You are a smart entrepreneur but still have to make budget. So when prioritizing investment into your WordPress site, keep these things in mind:

• Select a host that is a dedicated WordPress managed hosting provider
• Seek out great themes from sites like Genesis, Thesis, Elegant Themes, or WooThemes
• Always use superior plugins from reputable developers. You can check their reviews in the plugin directory

The old phrase “you get what you pay for” doesn’t apply to WordPress. That’s part of its beauty. The most sophisticated platform is available free of charge. However, you still need to be selective about themes, hosting, and plugins for the best performance possible. If you aren’t careful, your site could look amateurish and leave you open to security breaches as well.

For more information on improving your WordPress site, contact us at NOYO Web Development for a free consultation.