7 WordPress Mistakes To Avoid For Beginners

An increasing number of people are using WordPress to build their sites. It offers a variety of themes that make it easy for you to come with a personalized site. A beginner can get publishing within a short period with this tool. It is also search engine optimized, which makes it simple for your target audience to find your content. In spite of the ease of use and simplicity, beginners can make some mistakes when they use WordPress. Here are 7 WordPress mistakes to avoid for beginners.

1. Selecting Unsuitable Platforms

Most beginners tend to confuse free WordPress.com and self hosted WordPress. If you want to build a simple personal blog, a free WordPress.com website is the best solution. There are no recurring costs that are involved in this kind of site. On the other hand, if you want to have a lot more control over your site, money, and the type of plug-ins that you use, a self-hosted WordPress website is a good option. You need to compare the features available on these two platforms to determine the most appropriate one depending on your objectives.

2. Changing your URL

As a beginner, you have to select a domain to register your website. Most people assume that changing their domain does not affect the site. It is common for beginners to change the domain once they decide it is time to become serious bloggers. When you do this, it also changes the site URL. If you do not follow appropriate steps, you are likely to lose a lot of traffic and this can lower your income. It is possible to move to a different domain without affecting traffic to your site if you follow the WordPress guidelines.

3. Overlooking Security

Security is not a concern for many people until they realize that their sites have been hacked. Beginners tend to overlook the need to have secure sites. They fail to create backups to improve their WordPress security. It is easy to enhance security by taking a few simple measures. Create backups for all your content. It is also important to install limits for login attempts. You can also use Google Authenticator to get two-factor authentication for anyone who accesses your site. Your site can crash at anytime and this is why you need to be prepared to avoid data loss. WordPress offers some security plugins such as WP-DB-Backup.

4. Not Moderating Comments

Beginners rarely get adequate training from developers once their sites have been setup. This can make it difficult for you to manage your WordPress site. It may take a few months for you to figure out how to moderate comments on your site. By this time, you might have thousands of comments to approve. If you find it difficult to keep track of comments on your site, it is advisable to use the Disable Comments plugin. This plugin will turn off all comments on your site until you learn how to moderate them.

5. Including Too Many Categories

Beginners also find it difficult to narrow down the categories that they create. WordPress allows you to come up with as many categories as you want. This is becomes a mistake when you are carried away and come up with a category for each post on your site. You need to structure your site and only include necessary categories. Use tags instead of categories to differentiate between the various posts on the site.

6. Not Using Updates

Beginners tend to be shy away from upgrades. In other cases, you may forget to upgrade your site because it is not well managed. Updates are important because they reduce the risk of security vulnerabilities. Your site is more likely to be hacked if you do not upgrade your site. Take advantage of the WordPress updates to improve the website.

7. Purchasing Unnecessary Services

It is difficult for a beginner to determine if they require a certain domain service or not. In most cases, all you require is web and domain hosting services. Some domain registrars may offer services that are not necessary such as a 5-year registration, branded emails, and private registration. Start with basic services and once you are sure about what you want to do with the site, you can include additional ones.

WordPress has definitely made it simple for beginners to set up websites. However, it is possible to get overwhelmed by all the features that are available. As a beginner, you need to set an objective for your site and identify specific WordPress features that can improve it. Take advantage of available upgrades and ensure your site is secure. Follow the guidelines provided on WordPress to enjoy its many benefits and avoid costly mistakes.

Roman Sahakov works and writes articles for Acuity Training Company! Through his articles, Roman encourages beginners to learn wordpress and explore it professionally to avoid simple mistakes that may then cost really much! Besides being an excellent writer Roman is also very enthusiastic person, who is always eager to explore something new and different.