SpyreStudios

Web Design and Development Magazine

  • Design
  • Showcase
  • Inspirational
  • Tutorials
  • CSS
  • Resources
  • Tools
  • UX
  • More
    • Mobile
    • Usability
    • HTML5
    • Business
    • Freebies
    • Giveaway
    • About SpyreStudios
    • Advertise On SpyreStudios
    • Get In Touch With Us

10 WordPress Tips and Tricks to Steal from the Pros

November 14, 2018 by Zac

WordPress is one of the most popular website platforms in the world, powering around 30 percent of the Web. It also has about 60 percent market share, beating out platforms like Joomla and Drupal by a long shot.

People who use WordPress generally love it, which may be one reason it’s so popular. The other is likely that it’s a simple-to-use editor, that’s also free to download. With that being said, the novice user starting out can be overwhelmed. However, this beginning phase with WordPress is something that really only takes just a few minutes to overcome and master!

No matter if you are a novice or a veteran site owner, you will want a sleek site with better performance, and these 10 WordPress tips can help you get there. The pros swear by them. Once you’ve tested them out, you probably will too.

1. Put the Basics First When Working with WordPress

Basic knowledge of WordPress is one of the most important things in your toolkit. If you want to build a great website, you need to start with a solid foundation. That foundation is built on the basics.

A great rule of thumb is to keep it simple. One reason WordPress overwhelms beginners is that it has so many different features. There are thousands of plugins, but there is only a handful that will improve your site.

If you’re starting out, these are the must-have plugins you need:

  • Jetpack by WordPress.com
  • Akismet Anti-spam or another spam filtering plugin for comments
  • Yoast SEO or another SEO tool to measure your optimization

You probably don’t even need all the features in a plugin like Jetpack, so be sure to turn off those you aren’t using. This reduces load times and optimizes the user experience of your site.

If you haven’t updated your SEO plugins in a while, or feel like you might be missing out on the latest ones to hit the market, simply read up on any of these top SEO blogs.

2. Put a Spotlight on SEO

You’ve already decided to install an SEO plugin. You know good search engine optimization drives traffic to your website. A great plugin isn’t the be-all, end-all of getting good SEO.

Before you even begin building your website, make sure you understand the basics of SEO. This can help you sort out what you need, and what you don’t need when it comes time to actually build the website.

Not sure what you need or don’t need? You might want to hire an SEO consultant before you begin. Hash out your plan before you get started, and everything will seem much more streamlined.

3. Get on Board with Mobile for Your Website

One of the biggest trends in the last few years has been the surging popularity of mobile. Google now ranks sites based on their mobile-friendliness. Mobile has also surpassed desktops as the most popular way of accessing the Internet.

The writing is on the wall. We’re living in a mobile world, and you must adapt. That’s why one of the most popular WordPress blog tips is ensuring you optimize your site for mobile.

4. There Are All Kinds of WordPress Tips for Personalizing User Experience

Does everyone who visits your website see the same message when they land there? Are your suggestions for what to read next static, or do they respond and change as users click around your site?

Personalization is the next frontier in delivering great user experience through your website. That’s why so many WordPress hacks focus on crafting a more personalized experience.

One of the easiest ways to deliver is to use a plugin to greet users with different messages. Someone visiting from a web search will receive a different message than someone who arrives after clicking a Twitter link.

5. Think about the Structure

If you were to map out your website on a piece of paper, what would it look like? Now think about how easy it is to navigate through all these pages. How quickly can people find what they’re looking for?

A common area for bad structure on sites, is the footer area. You can see an example of this in the screenshot below.

Site structure is more important than ever. Users themselves will move on if they can’t find what they want. Search engines like Google use the structure as part of your ranking as well.

6. Feel the Need for Speed

Another important thing to consider about your website is speed. How fast does your site load for visitors? Google will downgrade your rank and visitors will click away if the site is too slow.

Speeding up your website is easy with these premium hacks:

  • Reduce the size of images, so they load faster on slow connections
  • Use a lazy load plugin so images only load when the viewer scrolls by them
  • Remove unnecessary plugins and clutter that could slow the site down
  • Spring for dedicated hosting, not shared

You should also avoid fancy graphics or huge video files that might slow down the site.

7. Upgrade Your Site’s Security

People are becoming more concerned about security and privacy online. WordPress offers plenty of plugins to help you provide high-grade security.

If that’s still not enough, you can consider a custom-built website or theme. When you’re building the code from scratch, you can write better security in line by line.

8. Use WordPress as a CMS

WordPress is known for powering blogs. It’s time to expand your understanding of the platform. Think of it as a full-fledged content management system.

Your blog likely isn’t the only thing you’re going to put on your website. You’ll also have landing pages, a few static information pages, and more. You can also use the website as an archive for all the content you’ve made in the past.

Thinking of WordPress as a CMS can also help you define the site’s structure.

9. Get a Custom Website

WordPress is endlessly customizable, and many themes are very versatile. That said, you may not find a theme that meets all your needs or reflects your brand.

Many companies settle for making a few alterations here and there. A custom website gives you greater control over every aspect of your WordPress site. You can upgrade security, restructure the site, and improve loading times.

Check out some examples of custom sites, like the ones from this company, to see what this solution could do for you.

When going with a custom design, make sure your design is configuring your site to view correctly to the user across all platforms. With more users now relying on their mobile device to access the internet, you MUST have a site that is mobile-optimized and responsive across all devices.

10. Seek Out Help When You Need it

This might be the best entry on our list of WordPress tips and tricks. Since WordPress is so popular, there are endless resources on the Web. If you have questions, the answers are out there.

Just like we’ve come out with a list of actionable tips for WordPress users, many other sites will do the same. The good news is that each of these lists will likely highlight different tips and features. So whenever you see a new one mentioned, be sure to check it out and see if it has any new tips and tricks that you might not be using yet.

You Can Master WordPress with these Simple Steps

For the novice, WordPress might seem a bit overwhelming. You can get started on the road to mastery with these WordPress tips.

If you’re looking for more advanced advice, try out some tutorials or other resources. There’s plenty of information around the blog to help you master WordPress and create the website of your dreams.

Filed Under: WordPress

Recent Posts

  • 31 Fresh Design Elements for Spring and Easter
  • 10 Templates for Music Concert Flyers
  • How to Build a Web Scraper Using Node.js
  • Best PHP Books, Courses and Tutorials in 2022
  • How to Get Your First Web Design Client

Archives

  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008

Categories

  • Accessibility
  • Android
  • Apps
  • Art
  • Article
  • Blogging
  • Books
  • Bootstrap
  • Business
  • CSS
  • Design
  • Development
  • Ecommerce
  • Fireworks
  • Flash
  • Freebies
  • Freelance
  • General
  • Giveaway
  • Graphic Design
  • HTML5
  • Icons
  • Illustrator
  • InDesign
  • Infographics
  • Inspirational
  • Interview
  • Jobs
  • jQuery
  • Learning
  • Logos
  • Matrix
  • Minimalism
  • Mobile
  • Motion Graphics
  • Music
  • News
  • Photoshop
  • PHP
  • Promoted
  • Rails
  • Resources
  • Showcase
  • Tools
  • Tutorial
  • Twitter
  • Typography
  • Uncategorized
  • Usability
  • UX
  • Wallpapers
  • Wireframing
  • WordPress
  • Work

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

SpyreStudios © 2022