Just installed WordPress? Confused that what you should do now? Many bloggers get confused thinking that which all things they need to do immediately after installing WordPress.
After installing WordPress your work doesn’t get over, you need to do few things before you start writing the first post.
In this post, I’m mentioning the things which you definitely need to do after installing WordPress. You may fail in getting good traffic to your blog if you’ll forget to do any of the things which I’m mentioning in this post.
1> Change the Permalink Structure
The default permalink structure is most of the times, not the perfect permalink structure. If you want to get good traffic to your blog, then you need to have Google friendly permalink structure for your blog posts.
For changing the permalink structure you need to go to Setting, and then go to Permalinks option.
Here you’ll find different permalink structures. You need to select the permalink structure which you find to be the best one. After selecting the permalink structure of your choice, you need to save the changes as without it the change will not be implemented.
Tip:- You can go through some of the most successful blogs for knowing the best type of permalink structure. Most of the bloggers choose the post name permalink structure.
Also read this article:- How To Make SEO Friendly URL In WordPress
2> Change Title, Tagline and Time Zone
Changing the title and tagline is very important. The title of your blog shouldn’t be long as there is a limit prescribed for it. Always try to have a unique title and make it as short as possible.
The tagline of the blog should be according to the type of your blog. Tagline mostly contains more words than the title, but you should definitely try to avoid very long tagline.
Both title and tagline can be changed by going to the General Settings.
Not only changing the title and tagline is important, but you also need to change the time zone. Time zone should be the perfect one because it will help in having an accurate date for the blog posts.
3> Configure the Reading Settings
You can change the reading settings whenever you want, but some bloggers decide to change it before publishing the first blog post.
Here you’ll find 2 options. The first option is making the front page display the latest posts while selecting the second option will display a static page at the front page.
Bloggers who have created a custom homepage select the second option. If you too have created a custom homepage, then you also need to make use of the second option. Most of the new bloggers usually decide to display latest posts on the front page as it is an easier option than the second one.
4> Delete Unused Themes & Plugins
After installing WordPress, many bloggers try out a variety of themes. Keeping unused themes may create load on the server, and that’s why getting rid of them can be the best idea. You can easily delete the unused themes by going to Appearance, and then going to the Themes section.
Another thing you need to do is that you need to delete unused plugins. This can be easily done by going to the plugins menu. You should always try to delete the plugins which you have already stopped using.
5> WordPress Security is Important
Hackers can anytime attack your WordPress blog and that’s why it is necessary that you protect your WordPress blog from hackers. These hackers may mainly target the WordPress admin area as it is one of the ways to hack any WordPress blog.
For protecting your WordPress admin area you need to do as many things as you can. Sucuri is one of the popular WordPress security plugin which you use for protecting your WordPress blog.
6> Install a Cache Plugin
W3 Total Cache and WP Super Cache are the popular WordPress cache plugins and you’ll find that most of the bloggers make use of one of these plugins.
By making use of a Cache plugin you’ll be able to improve the loading speed of your blog. If you recently have noticed that your blog is causing load on the server, then it may be the right time to make use of a Cache plugin.
7> Install an Anti-Spam Plugin
One of the things which cause a headache to many bloggers is the number of spam comments that they get on their blog. Finding out the genuine comments can be a very tough task for bloggers who get many spam comments on their blog posts.
Installing an Anti-Spam plugin like Akismet is the best way to get rid of these spam comments. For activating Akismet you may need an account at the Jetpack site, or you may need to follow some steps for activating your Akismet account. Activating Akismet account is important as then only it will be able to detect spam comments.
8> Start Scheduling Regular BackUps
Another thing you shouldn’t miss out on is finding a plugin which can schedule backups. There are some free plugins like BackWpUp which can help you in scheduling your WordPress blog backups.
If you think that taking regular backups is very much important, then you can also try out some premium plugins for scheduling regular backups of your blog.
Also read this article:- Best Free WordPress Backup Plugin
Conclusion:-
I hope that now you won’t ask anyone else that which things you need to do after installing WordPress. These are not the only things, but there are many other things which you may need to do for making your blog function properly. Let me know which other things you think are must to be done before publishing the first blog post on any WordPress blog.
