We all do or have done at least one of them. I think I did all 8 on this blog. As domainers, many of us live and die by the wordpress based website. We can throw up a site in a few hours, have a nice looking site in a day but here are 8 things I see on thousands of websites that are signs someone is either uninformed, in a hurry, new to wordpress, or sloppy (I’m all those plus lazy).
1. Leaving “Admin” As Your User Sign In:
If you really want your site hacked, this is a great way to do it. It’s easy to figure out if Admin is your user name and once a hack does, it’s as simple as setting up a password generator and letting them have at it. They won’t take anything of monetary value, just fill the site with links and take away hours and hours of your free time trying to fix it. For newbies, to set a new user name, set up a new user as an “Admin” and relog in as that new user. Then delete the Admin. Make sure to hit the button that keeps all your posts and assigns them to your new user. Of course the hacker may do the same thing to you
2. Forget to Change the Favicon:
I had the old “W” favicon until last night. I changed themes and was too lazy to put it back up. When I see that W or the favicon that came with the theme, its a sure sign to me that the person setting up the site isn’t giving it full attention. To fix. Go to any free favicon generator on the web and replace the favicon.ico file in the images section of your theme.
3. Not Using Basic Plugins:
If you don’t turn on Akismet, Use a plugin that makes a sitemap, and use the “All in One” SEO plugin you’ve really gotten lazy. They should all come as default plugins yet many people never turn them on or install them. Plugins have gotten so easy to install that there is no reason to utilize them. Which ones are the best is a matter of opinion but those three are a must. Of course there is overkill. Too much of a good thing gets crowded as well.
4. Not Using Google Webmaster Tools:
The second you finish a site you need to let Google you exist. Sure they’ll find you but why not make an announcement. At that point you’ll start generating incredible data that will let you adjust your site accordingly. To let this info sit idle is a waste. If you don’t care what Google sees and thinks your site is about then I guess you don’t need it. If you’re trying to reach a target audience you should care.
5. Filling the Site With Adsense:
We all want to make money. What’s the point of putting in time if there are no rewards? Patience young grasshopper. Good things come to those who wait and waiting to monetize a site is a good move. Especially if you have lots of repeat visitors. There is nothing more telling of a quick website set up for clicks than adsense right in the middle of a post. There are other ways to get the same monetization without ruining the aesthetics of your site. Once you build up traffic you will be able to sell higher CPM ads that will more than likely make up for lost time. Paid links are a big detractor as well. There are places for link ads and I use them on a few sites but they have to be set up properly to make sure there are only one or two a page and not 10 per post.
6. Fail to Back Up Your Site:
It’s incredible how many people don’t back up their site regularly. As a person that has no idea what I’m doing regarding coding and php, I sure like to mess with my site. I screwed it up once and I’ve backed up ever since. It’s not a matter of IF you ever need to restore your backup but WHEN. It’s a 5 minute process and you’ll wish you had some day.
7. Not Adding Pictures to Every Post:
There a reason why large publications include a photo in every article (notice the wonderful falling skater photo) . Readers are more likely to read a post with a photo. It may even help drive search engine traffic if you use a few keywords in the ALT-img label of the photo.
8. Leaving Default Settings or Headers:
Hello World! One of the most used words on the internet. Not because people are typing it in but because wordpress users leave so much of the default headers and settings on their site. Sometimes they just leave the filler text. This is a perfect example.
This is very good advice, especially the pictures. I have one blog that gets more traffic from a picture than most of the articles combined and yet I rarely use pictures on my newest blog. Time to change that!
Keep posting stuff like this i really like it.