What to do after installing WordPress: 10 quick and easy things - To Do List

You have successfully installed WordPress and are finally ready to customize your website and start publishing content. Before doing all this you need to know that there are some things to do after installing WP , even before thinking about graphic layouts and the texts of pages and articles.

These are quick and easy operations , but they can really make a difference for your website, both at SEO level and as regards the user experience.

Add Title and Motto

After installing WordPress remember to add Title and Motto , i.e. the name of your business and your slogan. By default, WordPress.Org inserts 'Just Another WordPress Site' as a motto and, if you don't remember to delete it and enter your slogan, or the description of your business, that wording will appear in the search engine results.

Set up Permalinks

The default Permalink structure often has an unfriendly and Google friendly url format. Choosing the right Permalink structure is important to have urls on the website that are appreciated by both search engines and users.

By clicking on Settings - Permalink you can see the different options that WordPress offers you.

To have permalinks loved by both Google and users, I recommend you choose between 'Article name' or 'Custom structure'. In customized structure you can choose to insert between:

/% postname% / (recommended)

/% category% /% postname% /

Check the time format and date

If you have installed WordPress in Italian you shouldn't have any problems, but a little check doesn't hurt. Go to Settings - General and click Time Zone. Now you have to choose 'Rome' and assign the date and time format.

These settings prevent you from having problems publishing posts, especially if you decide to schedule the release of some articles.

Delete the Admin user

When installing WordPress, very often, the administrator user is created natively with the username "admin". It is better to change it as soon as possible for safety reasons! In fact, attackers who know WP well know perfectly well that the default admin user is Admin. Better make life a little more complicated, don't you think?

 

That's why it's crucial to delete Admin . So create a new administrator user and assign him a secure username. Once this is done you can safely delete Admin.

Delete 'Hello World' and sample pages

Believe me, this is also a very important thing. Among the things to remember after installing WordPress you must also remember to delete the various examples that are loaded by default , such as the classic article 'Hello World'. So check carefully the 'Comments', 'Articles', 'Pages' section and when you find the examples, delete them without fear. Remember to do it before your site goes online!

Websites are still online today which include these demo contents uploaded by WordPress. It is synonymous with little attention to detail and, to those who visit your site, you can also convey the idea of ​​having little professionalism. And I'm sure you don't want this for your site!

Delete the Meta Widget

Remaining on the subject of cancellations, I also recommend that you delete the Meta Widget which by default appears in the Sidebar. This Widget is nothing more than a list to the WP administrative area, to RSS and WordPress.Org feeds.

Create an account on WordPress.Com

You will have certainly evaluated the differences between WordPress.org and WordPress.com and even if you have chosen to use the self hosted version, you must create an account on WP.com. I guess you're wondering why. The reason is that you need this account to use the Askimet plugin , a very valid help to fight spam on your site or blog. So, go to wordpress.com , proceed with the registration and keep your credentials.

Install the WordPress theme

Choose a WordPress theme that is good for the project you have in mind. Remember that the themes are not only the graphic part of a site, in fact, in many cases, they add different features. Deciding the theme for a site is an operation not to be done lightly and if you still don't know which is the best for your project, I invite you to read my mini guide on how to choose a WordPress theme .

Delete plugins and themes you don't use

Unused themes and plugins can affect the security of your website . By default WordPress installs three Themes and two plugins (Askimet and Hello Dolly), so remember to delete these themes when you have chosen the one suitable for your site and delete the Hello Dolly plugin. However, Askimet does not delete it. As I said earlier, it's the plugin that helps you fight spam.

Delete the contents of the demos

If you've decided to use a theme demo, don't forget to delete the sample content . When you install a demo, it happens that you automatically upload images, sample categories, articles and pages with it.

To make your work easier and not to forget all these operations, I have prepared a small Check List to download and print. You can find it by clicking here.

If instead you need help to create your website with WordPress contact me and together we will talk about the idea you have in mind.

 

 

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