Complete Guide on How to Manage Your WordPress Site

WordPress is a powerful content management system many websites use to organize and share information. It has all the features you need to start and run a successful blog or internet business. This flexibility is useful but also a bit complex. Design problems with your site create functionality issues that drive visitors away, and security mistakes leave you open to attack.

The technology that powers WordPress is intertwined with the user experience. There are many little things that can go wrong, but they all boil down to common and avoidable mistakes:

  • Poor web page design and organization
  • Use of risky software
  • Failure to observe proper safety measures
  • Inability to recover due to lack of backups and support
  • Lack of goals and direction

Resolving these issues is often wasteful, and it can be frustrating when you want to focus on your business or blog. Team WP Sekure is here to help.

Avoid Design and Setup Problems

Part of the WordPress platform’s strength is how easy it is to customize. After installing the core program, you can modify it with a new web theme or plugin. An entire industry exists to build these individual extra features. Just because they exist does not mean that they are all suitable for your site.

Common website maintenance problems irritate your site’s users:

  • Poor navigation structure – Lack of internal links or missing menu items
  • Mislabeled categories – No organization of blog posts
  • Too many broken links – References to other sites lead to errors
  • Slow loading times – Visitors give up waiting for your content to become available

optimal WordPress website layoutAvoid slowing down your site with too many features. Only install the themes and plugins that you need, and delete old code. You can also save space by hosting videos on YouTube and providing links to your WordPress pages. Directly providing videos requires a tremendous amount of server resources.

Plan the structure of your website before you start writing pages. Use a simple menu bar whenever possible, and test your menus to make sure they work. Try using a set of index cards with your menu titles written on them to experiment with your navigation structure.

Make sure that pages have links to get users back to your homepage from all other pages on your site. Avoid using the default category for your blog posts. This generic descriptor does not tell users or search engines enough about your site’s information.

Run Reliable and Current Software

The core WordPress code is open-source. This is the platform’s great strength and what makes it so popular. Anyone can contribute and use it for free.

Hackers are constantly looking for ways to muck things up, but the WordPress community actively fights against this nuisance. As soon as a flaw is discovered, new code is written to prevent exploitation.

These updates typically include:

  • Fixes for known bugs
  • Security patches that improve reliability
  • New features and functions

Updates for WordPress are automatically installed, but this is only true for series updates of the core program. Each version requires authorization to install. The same is true for your themes and plugins. Manage these updates from your dashboard whenever a notice appears informing you of a newer version.

The number one reason why a site gets hacked is due to outdated software, but some sites are hacked because the code installed was malicious, to begin with. You should only install WordPress from a trusted site. The same is true for plugins and themes. Avoid trying programs offered by unknown developers.

After installing an update or new software, test your site to make sure that your plugins are activated and functioning like they should be. Sometimes changes in the way a plugin works can upset your site. This is especially true if you were using the plugin for something it was not intended for.

Improve Security to Discourage Attacks

backdoor WordPress security breach

Mistakes and faulty code are not the only dangers you face online. Cyberattacks can take down your site or cause other harm. There are many ways that hackers might disrupt your website, and their methods are constantly changing.

Common techniques include:

  • Brute force attacks – repeated failed attempts to login slows your server
  • Break Ins – An unauthorized user gains access to your administrator rights
  • Spamming – Multiple garbage messages clog discussion boards

It is impossible to anticipate every possible way that hackers might attack you. Protecting against these malicious activities is time-consuming and costly, but putting measures in place to slow down attacks reduces your risk of becoming a victim.

Set up message filters to automatically weed out spam. Install a login attempt limiter to frustrate brute force attacks. If a hacker does access your site, changing the administrator password and login provides an extra layer of protection against unauthorized modifications.

A WordPress caching system can help to improve speed & performance while also reducing the risk of cyber attacks. These services act as a third-party buffer that filter information between users and your site’s server. When a user accesses your website, information passes through the caching server first. If the caching server detects unauthorized activity, it stops allocating resources to that user. They also help to process high volumes of requests.

Always Backup Your Data

Sooner or later, everyone experiences a catastrophic failure. It might not be malicious code that triggers the event. You could make a mistake experimenting with new features or settings and lose your data.

Backing up your site is critical. In fact, implementing a backup system is the first thing you should do after your site is created. Some common options for saving your data include:

  • Have your backup files emailed to you in an attachment
  • Allow your data to be stored for you on your web host’s server
  • Set up storage on another independent provider like Dropbox
  • Hire a WordPress management service to manage your backup files for you

Regardless of the method you choose, make sure that restoring your site is easy. You want your site back up and running so you can get back to work.

Many web hosting services claim to backup your data for you. While this is often true, these backups are usually infrequent or inadequate. You may need a file you just lost, but your backup data is weeks old. Generally, you should schedule your site backup to take place as often as your site is updated with new information.

Focus More on Your Conversion Rates

It is likely that you already have a strategy for your SEO content on your website, but driving traffic to your site isn’t the same thing as making sales. You must understand what your customers are after and how they react to different content.WordPress conversion rate optimization

These typical conversion rate strategies improve the performance of your internet business as a whole:

  • Perform A/B Split testing to discover the content with the most appeal
  • Refine your calls to action to be meaningful for your users
  • Develop landing pages with attractive features and useful information
  • Remove items that distract visitors from your site’s focus

Conversion rate optimization plugins also help you to track results and provide analytics that goes beyond basic SEO strategy. These tools help you to focus your efforts on capturing attention before other websites do. This gives you more opportunities to transforms site visitors into customers.

Team WP Sekure Helps You Manage Your WordPress Site

Partner with trusted WordPress experts. At Team WP Sekure, we help you to optimize your site for speed and performance. Our advanced security plugins harden your site against attacks. We also keep your software up-to-date and protect your data with regular backups.

We know that you want to focus on your business instead of worrying about the technical details of managing your site. We answer your questions and provide you with the solutions you need to easily maintain and improve your WordPress site. Connect with us today.

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