WordPress has helped to open up the gateway for small businesses to simply and easily get their business online. However there are some simple mistakes novice WordPress users are doing that can cost them time, potential clients AND money.
Here is my list of the top 10 WordPress mistakes, along with 
simple actions you can take to remedy them, enabling you to save time, attract clients and potentially boost your online business – both in terms of finances AND visibility!
#1: Using ‘uncategorised’ for your posts
This is one of the simplest mistakes to rectify – but why is it so important to do so? When you use the default ‘uncategorised’ setting for your posts, you’re preventing your website visitors from easily searching & finding relevant content on your site. Start using categories and tags for your posts.
#2: Forgetting to update your pages
If your website is going to have old prices and old information on it, there’s no point having one. Ensure you regularly update it – including your qualifications, prices and products/services.
#3: Not thinking of security
When it comes to security, WordPress users often avoid the REAL basics. This includes:
- Not carrying out backups
- Ignoring updates
- Leaving ‘admin’ as their username and not limiting access attempts (these make it SUPER easy for hackers!)
If you’re doing any of these – look to implement changes and tighten up your security ASAP!
#4: Having a ‘let’s use everything’ philosophy
Just because you have space for widgets on your sidebars, headers and footers, doesn’t mean you need to fill it with everything you can think off. The same goes for plugins – there may be masses to choose from, but you don’t need them all! This also applies to having lots of images, various banners and pop-ups etc. Just use what you need to run an effective site!
#5: Not monitoring comments
If left to their own devices, your comments will be unanswered, full of obscenities and you’ll end up with 1000’s of spam ones – look to install a spam filter and check your comments on a regular basis.
#6: Having no contact form
If a visitor to your site wanted to contact you, could they? If you have no contact form, there’s no way to initiate contact with you.
#7: No analytics
This is essential if you want to better understand who visits your site, what works and what is popular – know this and you can do more of what your visitors need.
#8: Leaving permalinks as standard
The default permalink setting is your ‘website address/the post number’. This is not easy to remember AND doesn’t help your website SEO. Change it to something more memorable (such as ‘website address/post name’.
#9: Not optimising images
If your images are not optimised, your site will take forever to load and your SEO will suffer. If you need help with this, check out my recent post on it here.
#10: Leaving author name as ‘admin’ or similar
Finally, leaving your author name as ‘admin’ prevents you from building up name recognition AND your expert status. If YOU want to be known as the ‘go to’ person in your field, make sure your website attaches your name to every post!
Remedy these top 10 common WordPress mistakes and you’ll be on the way to a better WordPress site – one that appeals to your visitors, provides a better user experience and potentially helps both you and your business look great!
What are your thoughts on these top 10 common mistakes? Are there any you need to work on – or are you feeling quite happy you don’t make any of them? Are there any you disagree with or feel were missed off? If you need any help with fixing any, why not check out the services we offer here?
Image ©