WordPress is a great content management system to create blogs and websites, and there are tons of tutorials to help you get started. But what do you do after installing WordPress?
In this article, I will share with you 8 important tasks to complete after you install WordPress. By performing these tasks your blog will have a pro look, will be secured, will have backups if ever something happened, and will have more subscribed to your email list.
Note: there is no priority order in this list below, as these are tasks to do before launching a blog. Consider this rather as a checklist. There is also the fact that what can be important for a blogger can be of lesser importance to another.
Install a Premium Theme
Design plays a crucial role in the future success of a blog. Many people focus on content, more than anything else, which does not matter if you do not want to become a successful blogger.
This does not mean that content is not an important element, people will start looking at the look of your blog. First impressions are important, especially when we know that 70 to 80% of visitors will never come back.
If you do not have a blog with a good design, then visitors will not take it seriously. You can choose from these premium themes:
- Genesis Theme
- Theme Forest
- Elegant Theme
- Themes from France
Note : the descriptions are in the "resources" page of my blog.
If you do not want paid topics choose a good theme on wordpress.org.
Start creating a list of emails
One of the first things to do is to create a list of emails. Nothing is better than emails.
Having an email list will allow you to interact with your readers and promote your products.
If you do not have any products, you can use your email list to promote your affiliate links and make money with. Nowadays most bloggers create email lists and share exclusive content with their subscribers.
To create an email list you must subscribe to a self-responding service. If you have just started, I recommend Mailchimp (free up to 2000 registered ). If you want to send messages automatically I advise Aweber.
Optimize your blog for search engines
If you ask me if the settings of WordPress are good for search engines, I will tell you that they are not well set to increase the traffic of your blog . To increase your online presence and increase your traffic, you must be sure that your blog will allow you to make good SEO settings.
There are plenty of plugins available that you can help you increase your SEO. But the best of them is undoubtedly the Seo WordPress plugin by Yoast. This plugin is free.
Install an Anti-Spam on your blog
There are two ways to handle unwanted comments on your WordPress blog. Either you can remove them manually, or you can use a WordPress plugin. The best option is the last one. Install the Askimet plugin .
Personally, I use Askimet + AntiSpam Bee.
You can also install a comment system like Disqus. This enhances WordPress's default comments by letting users populate their social profile (Facebbok, Twitter, or Google+) to comment.
Add Social Network buttons
Any blogger can tell you the importance of social networks. After search engines, social networking sites are the second major sources that bring traffic back. Bringing traffic through social networks can be more or less easy, it depends how it integrates on your blog. Well placed buttons can increase the chances of having more Likes or Tweets.
Here are some social networking plugins:
- Addthis
- ShareThis
- Add Twitter, Facebook Like, Google more on Social Share (the name is long, I just discovered it is not bad)
Install a Backup Plugin
Although, you have nothing to back up when starting a blog, installing a backup plugin will ensure that your blog is safe and secure. There are free and paid plugins for you to ensure your backups. Do not take the risk of not having one.
Here are a few:
- WordPress database backup : plugin that allows to make backups and sends them by mail.
- VaultPress : premium plugin ($ 5 / month)
- Backup Buddy
- Wp Backup to DropBox: allows to put your backups on your dropbox
Secure your blog
Here are some tips that can help you increase the security of your new blog:
- Backup Plugin: install a backup plugin as seen above.
- Update: regularly update your plugins, and themes. Very important.
- Security Plugin: Install Word Fence or WP Better Security.
Follow the progress of your blog
Once you install all the important things on your blog, start tracking your progress by adding a Google Analytics code to your blog. This will help you track not only the number of visitors, but also see your most visited pages, and you can optimize conversion rates.
You can also install Cliky , which is an alternative to Google Analytics. It's free.
I hope this article has helped you and that you liked it.
If so, I encourage you to share it and comment below.
Do you have anything else to add?
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