Discover why WordPress is the go-to tool for building websites and blogs worldwide. In this class, we’ll walk you through everything you need to get started with this powerful, free web creation platform.
You’ll learn the entire process, from installing and setting up WordPress SEO web to creating a fully functional and professional-looking website or blog. We’ll cover best practices, explore how to customise your site with themes, and show you how to extend its functionality with free plugins.
Plus, we’ll dive into SEO strategies, including tips on using the RankMath plugin, to help your site rank higher on search engines. Let’s get a move on!
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org
WordPress.com is a hosted platform owned by Automattic, the company behind WordPress. Launched in 2005, it’s a user-friendly way to create websites without worrying about hosting or maintenance. Over time, it’s evolved to offer more customisation options and premium features, making it ideal for beginners or anyone looking for a simple, hassle-free setup to get a website or blog online quickly.
Moreover WordPress.org is the self-hosted version of WordPress, developed by a passionate open-source community and maintained by the non-profit WordPress Foundation. It was launched in 2003 as a flexible platform for building websites. Over the years, it’s grown into a powerful tool, giving users full control to customise, add plugins, and create unique sites. Perfect for those wanting creative freedom and scalability.
The key difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org lies in control and flexibility. WordPress.com, owned by Automattic, is a hosted service that handles your website’s hosting and maintenance, making it beginner-friendly but with limited customisation unless you pay for premium plans.
WordPress.com offers plans ranging from free to £36/month. The free option is basic, while paid plans include features like custom domains, advanced design tools, and eCommerce capabilities. Prices start at £4/month for personal sites and go up to £36/month for businesses needing full eCommerce functionality.
WordPress.org, backed by the WordPress Foundation, is self-hosted and gives you full control over your site, ideal for those wanting advanced customisation. Both started in the early 2000s, with WordPress.org launching in 2003 as an open-source project and WordPress.com following in 2005 to offer a managed alternative. WordPress now powers more than 40% of websites across the internet, making it the top choice for building all kinds of sites. Thanks to its open-source setup, you get incredible customisation options, perfect for creating anything from a blog to a full-on eCommerce store. Of course, being open-source can mean it’s a bit more vulnerable to attacks, but don’t worry! With the right security steps, like regular updates and trusted plugins, you can keep your site safe and running smoothly.
WordPress.org is ideal if you want full control and customisation of your website. While WordPress itself is free, keep in mind that hosting and SEO tools aren’t. Before diving into finding the best hosting package, we’ll guide you on how to choose the right one to match your needs and budget.
What is a domain and hosting?
Before jumping into the factors to consider, let’s break down what a domain and hosting are and how they work together.
A domain is your site’s online address, like rojascreator.com. It helps users find you on the web. You purchase it from a registrar and renew it regularly to maintain ownership. It’s the first step in creating your online identity.
Hosting is the server space where your website’s data, files, and images are stored. It ensures your site is accessible 24/7 to anyone online. A reliable host makes your site faster and more secure, which is crucial for a good user experience.
Can I use a domain without hosting?
Both hosting and domains work hand in hand. A domain directs users to your site, while hosting keeps it live and functional. Without hosting, your domain has nowhere to point to, and without a domain, no one can find your site. Together, they’re the foundation of a strong SEO-friendly website.
Top-Level Domains list
Top-Level Domains (TLDs), like .com or .org, are the last bit of a web address. They used to be a big deal for categorising websites, but these days they’re not as important as they once were.
Here’s a quick rundown of the types:
- Generic TLDs (gTLDs): Common ones like .com, .org, or newer ones like .blog.
- Country Code TLDs (ccTLDs): Local options like .uk (UK) or .ca (Canada).
- Sponsored TLDs (sTLDs): Specific ones like .edu (education) or .gov (government).
Honestly, TLDs don’t matter much anymore. What really counts is building a fast, secure, and well-optimised website. That means focusing on SEO, getting SSL for security, and ensuring your page loads quickly. The key to all of this?
A good hosting provider. Hosting plays a massive role in your site’s speed, security, and ability to handle future tech issues. So, if you’re planning a web project, invest in quality hosting, it’s way more important than worrying about your TLD.
Buy Domain and Hosting
A domain usually costs around £10-20 per year, depending on the TLD you choose (like .com or .co.uk). Some registrars offer discounts for the first year, but keep in mind the renewal price is often higher. Domains are straightforward to manage, but costs can add up if you need extras like privacy protection.
Hosting plans vary widely, from £30-100+ per year for basic shared hosting, up to £300 or more for advanced options like VPS or dedicated servers. Cheaper plans are fine for small sites, but for better speed, security, and reliability, spending a bit more is worth it.
Should I Separate Domain and Hosting?
You can buy your domain and hosting from separate providers, but it comes with extra work. You’ll need to update the DNS settings of your domain to connect it to your hosting, and you’ll have to track payment deadlines for two providers. If you’re not confident with DNS, servers, and SSL certificates, it’s easier to keep things simple by getting both from one provider. Look for a hosting service that’s reliable, secure, and offers good support to save yourself potential headaches.
How to Choose Hosting and a Domain?
A good domain should be short, easy to remember, and represent your brand or purpose. If you are in England, a .co.uk TLD is a great option to show you are local, while .com works well for global reach. Avoid numbers or special characters as they can confuse people. Examples: bakingdelights.co.uk, smithdesigns.com.
Tips for Choosing a Domain:
- Keep it simple and easy to spell.
- Choose a TLD that fits your audience.
- Make it unique and brandable.
Tips for Choosing a hosting
A good hosting service is the foundation of a fast and secure website.
- Reliable Uptime and Speed: Pick a host with at least 99.9 percent uptime and fast servers to keep your site online and loading quickly.
- Strong Security Features: Make sure they offer free SSL certificates, regular backups, and malware protection to keep your site safe.
- Room to Grow: Choose a host that allows easy upgrades and offers enough storage and bandwidth for future growth.
- Easy-to-Use Control Panel: Look for a simple dashboard, like cPanel, to manage your site without hassle.
- 24/7 Customer Support: Go for a host with round-the-clock support via chat, email, or phone, so help is always available.
- Server Location Options: Check if the host has servers close to your audience for faster load times.
- Tool Compatibility: Ensure it supports platforms like WordPress or tools you plan to use.
- Fair Pricing: Avoid hidden fees and super high renewal rates by choosing a transparent provider.
This checklist will help you find a hosting service that keeps your site secure, fast, and ready to grow!
WordPress SEO Basics
Once you’ve purchased your hosting and domain, and worked on keyword research and information architecture as we discussed in earlier lessons, it’s time to start using WordPress.
Before building your site, ensure your visibility settings are correct by going to Settings > Reading and making sure search engines can not index your site.
You might be wondering, “Why would I want to stop Google from indexing my site when I’m doing all this work to get people to visit it?” Well, in the first few months, until your website has a clear structure (yes, that one we planned at the start), it’s better to stay off Google’s radar. If Google discovers pages you might later delete, it can be a headache to get them de-indexed.
So, for now, we’ll stay invisible to Google and other search engines while we get everything properly set up. It’s just a smart way to avoid future hassle!
Next, set an SEO-friendly permalink structure under Settings > Permalinks, choosing the “Post Name” option for clean, readable URLs.
Categories and tags are useful for organising your content and helping search engines understand your site’s structure. They also make it easier for visitors to navigate.
However, some people use tags like hashtags without realising they’re creating unnecessary URLs. Since you’re just starting, you likely don’t have enough content to justify using categories and tags extensively.
Keep in mind that every category and tag creates a new URL, which means you’ll need to create content for those URLs if you want them to rank well. Focus on building quality content first before worrying about categories and tags.
First, make sure Google isn’t treating www.yoursite.com and yoursite.com as separate websites. This happens more often than you’d think and can result in duplicate content that affects your rankings. To fix this, choose either the “www” or non-“www” version of your URL and stick with it. WordPress handles this automatically if you set your preferred version under Settings > General, where both the WordPress Address and Site Address should match.
When you’re organising your content, try to keep posts or pages assigned to just one category. If a single post belongs to multiple categories, WordPress may generate multiple URLs for it, which could create duplicate content. For example, if a post is under both “Recipes” and “Healthy Living,” it might show up at yoursite.com/recipes/post-title and yoursite.com/healthy-living/post-title. That’s an SEO headache waiting to happen.
Permalinks also play a big role in avoiding duplicates. Once you’ve set your permalink structure under Settings > Permalinks, stick to it. Changing categories or moving content around without proper redirects can lead to broken links and duplicate pages, which can frustrate both users and search engines.
Sometimes, duplicate content happens unintentionally. For instance, if you switch between HTTP and HTTPS, use pagination, or add URL parameters (like tracking codes), you might end up with multiple versions of the same page. You can check for this by searching Google with site:yourwebsite.com or reviewing your indexed pages in Google Search Console. If you see more pages than you’ve actually created, there may be duplicate content that needs fixing.
Every URL you delete should be redirected to another one to avoid those annoying 404 errors. Using 301 redirects is key here, as they tell search engines and users that a page has permanently moved to a new location.
This helps prevent duplicate content issues and stops keyword cannibalisation, where multiple pages compete for the same keyword and hurt your rankings. With tools like RankMath, this process becomes much easier to manage. Don’t worry, we’ll dive into how to use it in more detail later.
To prevent issues, you can use canonical URLs. A canonical URL tells Google which version of a page it should prioritise. For example, if the same blog post appears on two different URLs, the canonical tag points Google to the one you want it to index.
Configuring your WordPress site
The General Settings section handles the foundational information about your website.
- Site Title and Tagline
Begin by setting the Site Title, which represents your website’s name, and the Tagline, a short description of what your site is about. These appear in search engine results and browser tabs.- Navigate to Settings > General.
- In the “Site Title” field, enter your website’s name (e.g., “Amazing Travel Blog”).
- In the “Tagline” field, write a brief description (e.g., “Adventures Around the World”).
- Admin Email Address
Verify that the Admin Email Address is accurate. This email will receive important notifications about updates, user activity, and security alerts. - Timezone and Date/Time Settings
Select the appropriate timezone for your site to ensure that scheduled posts, comments, and events align with your audience’s time.- Scroll to the “Timezone” dropdown and select your region.
- Adjust the date and time format to your preference.
- Membership Options
Decide if you want users to register on your site. If you allow registrations, ensure you set the default role for new users to Subscriber to limit their access.
Writing Settings
The Writing Settings section determines how WordPress handles content creation.
- Default Post Category
Select a default category for new posts. For example, if most of your posts will be tutorials, set “Tutorials” as the default.- Navigate to Settings > Writing.
- In the “Default Post Category” dropdown, choose the category.
- Default Post Format
Choose how new posts are formatted. For blogs, the standard format is usually fine, but you can select alternatives like “Gallery” or “Video” depending on your content. - Email Publishing
Configure settings to publish posts via email if you want to write and publish content by sending an email to a specific address.
Reading Settings
The Reading Settings affect how your site displays content to visitors.
- Homepage Displays
Decide whether your homepage shows your latest posts or a static page.- Navigate to Settings > Reading.
- Choose “Your latest posts” to display blog updates on the homepage.
- Alternatively, select “A static page” and assign a specific page as your homepage.
- Blog Page Posts Limit
Set how many posts appear on a single page. Keep this number reasonable (e.g., 5-10 posts) to avoid slow loading times. - Search Engine Visibility
Ensure the “Discourage search engines from indexing this site” option is unchecked. This setting should only be enabled if your site is under development and not ready for public view.
Discussion Settings
The Discussion Settings control how comments are managed on your site.
- Comment Moderation
Enable comment moderation to prevent inappropriate or spammy comments from being published automatically.- Navigate to Settings > Discussion.
- Check “Comment must be manually approved.”
- Avatar Settings
Choose whether to display user avatars in comments. Enable Gravatars to personalise the comment section with user images. - Email Notifications
Do not Enable notifications to receive an email when a comment is held for moderation or posted.
Media Settings
The Media Settings section determines how WordPress handles image uploads.
- Image Sizes
Define default dimensions for images uploaded to your site.- Navigate to Settings > Media.
- Set dimensions for thumbnails, medium, and large images. Resize them to align with your site’s layout and design.
- Uploading Files
Choose whether uploaded images are organised into folders based on the month and year they were uploaded.
Permalink Settings
The Permalink Settings are vital for SEO and user experience.
- Choose a Permalink Structure
Opt for a clean, descriptive URL structure to improve readability and search engine rankings.- Navigate to Settings > Permalinks.
- Select “Post name” to use the title of your posts in the URL (e.g., yourwebsite.com/sample-post).
- Custom Permalinks
If you need a custom structure for specific content, define it in the “Custom Structure” field. This is useful for advanced SEO configurations.
Privacy Settings
WordPress includes a Privacy Settings section to help you comply with data protection laws.
- Set a Privacy Policy Page
- Navigate to Settings > Privacy.
- Create a new page or select an existing page as your Privacy Policy.
- Customise Your Policy
Use the WordPress privacy policy template to create a compliant document. Include details on data collection, cookies, and third-party integrations.
By going through each area of the WordPress Settings step by step, you can set up your site to run smoothly, improve usability, and align with your SEO goals. Taking the time to tweak these settings properly will prepare your site for growth, ensuring it delivers a great user experience and solid performance.
Dashboard
When you set up your WordPress site, everything starts with the Dashboard. This is your main control centre as the admin, where you manage everything from design and content to user settings. The Dashboard makes it easy to switch between the back-end, where you make edits, and the front-end, which is what your visitors see. You can use the top black bar to quickly toggle between these views and visualise how your changes look to users. It is important to get comfortable with the Dashboard, as it is the core of managing your site.
In the settings, you can adjust the site title, admin email, language, timezone, and permalink structure to improve SEO. Just avoid changing the WordPress or site address fields, as this can break your site.
Appearance
The look and feel of your WordPress site are determined by the theme you choose. Themes control the design, layout, and style, letting you create a unique site. You can pick a free theme from WordPress or upload a premium one if you’ve bought it.
Once activated, you can customise it to match your brand by tweaking colours, fonts, and layouts. Widgets are a handy feature that let you add extras like search bars, recent posts, or social media icons to areas like the sidebar or footer.
Your site’s navigation menu can be created in the Appearance section. A well-organised menu helps users easily find important pages, like your About or Contact page, improving usability and SEO.
When choosing a theme, focus on performance, user experience, and flexibility. Make sure it runs smoothly and supports at least PHP 7.4 for speed and security. A good theme isn’t just about looking great; it should also meet your audience’s needs and make your site easy to use.
Think about what your visitors need and how to deliver it. The best themes help you create SEO-friendly content by presenting information clearly for both users and search engines.
A fast, responsive theme is essential, especially since most people browse on mobile devices. Your site should work perfectly on phones and tablets, with easy-to-tap buttons and content that adjusts to different screen sizes.
Most modern WordPress themes are responsive, but always check how your site performs on mobile. Use Google Analytics to find the most visited pages on mobile and focus on improving their layout and functionality. Avoid tiny text or overly fancy fonts that affect readability and ensure forms like newsletters are mobile-friendly.
Consider using next-gen image formats like WebP, which WordPress supports, to improve loading times on mobile. By selecting a responsive theme and optimising your site for mobile users, you’ll create a faster, user-friendly site that meets your audience’s needs while staying competitive in search rankings.
SEO Plugins and Tools
Plugins are amazing tools for boosting your WordPress site by adding extra features that improve SEO, user experience, and overall functionality. But before you go wild installing loads of plugins, remember that quality beats quantity. Too many plugins can slow down your site or even cause security issues. Let me show you how to find, install, and manage plugins directly in WordPress.
To get started, head to your WordPress Dashboard and click on Plugins in the left-hand menu. From there, click Add New. You will see a search bar where you can type in the name or functionality you are looking for. For example, if you want help with SEO, search for Rank Math. Need to block spam? Antispam Bee is a great choice. Want to add forms to your site? Try Contact Form 7.
Once you find the plugin you need, check the details. Look for the last updated date, active installations, ratings, and whether it is compatible with your version of WordPress. This information is crucial to avoid installing outdated or poorly supported plugins. If everything looks good, click Install Now and then Activate.
After activation, the plugin will either add a new menu item in your Dashboard or be accessible from an existing section like Settings or Tools. Each plugin will have its setup process, so follow the instructions provided to configure it properly.
Remember, plugins are powerful but should be used wisely. Stick to those you really need and Keep it simple and focus on making your WordPress site fast and efficient.
Estos son algunos plugins que recomiendo en general que cualquier proyecto seo.
Rank Math: SEO Made Simple
Rank Math is an amazing tool that I use all the time for SEO. It does so much, like managing redirects, which we talked about earlier. It makes handling 404 errors and setting up 301 redirects super easy, and it also takes care of video SEO and schema SEO, which are essential for standing out in search results.
While the free version is great if you are just starting, I personally use the Pro version, and it is absolutely worth it. For just a few pounds a year, it saves me so much time by handling all those time-consuming SEO tasks, and trust me, there are a lot. It has made managing SEO way easier for me and is a tool I recommend to anyone serious about improving their site.
Antispam Bee: Keeping Your Site Clean
Spam comments can harm your website’s credibility and slow it down. Antispam Bee is a lightweight plugin that filters out spam automatically, protecting your site without requiring captchas or additional user actions. It works seamlessly alongside other tools like Rank Math to maintain a professional, user-friendly environment.
By reducing unnecessary spam, you create a cleaner website experience, improving engagement and overall user satisfaction—both key metrics for search engines like Google.
Contact Form 7: Streamlined Communication
Contact Form 7 is a brilliant tool for creating customisable contact forms that are easy to set up and effective for collecting user inquiries. Whether you are gathering leads or feedback, it ensures a smooth experience for your visitors and keeps everything running seamlessly on your site.
You can even track form submissions in Google Analytics, which helps you better understand user behaviour and improve your communication strategies. It is a must-have tool for managing user interactions and keeping things organised on your WordPress site.
Boosting Your Website with Additional Tools
To further improve your site’s performance and SEO, pair these plugins with external tools:
- Ahrefs Keyword Research Tools: Identify low-competition keywords and optimise your content strategy for better rankings.
- Google Analytics: Monitor traffic and user engagement to refine your website’s structure and content.
- Google Search Console: Use insights to fix crawl errors, submit sitemaps, and track keyword performance.
Users
Managing users is an important part of setting up your WordPress site, especially if you have a team contributing to it. WordPress allows you to add users with different roles like admin, editor, or author, each with specific permissions to keep things organised and secure.
For instance, an author can create and edit their own posts but cannot access site settings, while an admin has full control. Assigning the right roles helps prevent accidental errors or changes that could disrupt your site, ensuring everything runs smoothly and efficiently.
Posts and Pages
Creating optimised content in WordPress is not just about writing a blog post and hitting publish; it’s about strategically using the tools available within the platform to ensure your content is both engaging for users and visible to search engines. Let’s go step by step through the process of creating and optimising content directly within WordPress.
Starting with Posts and Pages
From your WordPress Dashboard, navigate to the Posts or Pages section, depending on what type of content you’re creating. If it’s a blog entry, click on “Posts” and then “Add New.”
For static content like an About or Contact page, select “Pages” and “Add New.” This will open the Gutenberg editor, WordPress’s default block-based editor, where you can create content in a structured and visually appealing way.
In the title field, type the main title of your post or page. This title should include your focus keyphrase, as it’s one of the most important factors for SEO. For example, if you’re writing a guide about gardening, a good title might be “10 Expert Tips for Organic Gardening.” Keep the title clear and relevant, as it will form the basis of your URL and appear in search engine results.
Adding and Formatting Content
In the Gutenberg editor, begin by adding text blocks to create your content. Break up the content into sections using headings. Click the “+” button to add an H2 block for major sections and H3 blocks for subsections. For example, create headings like “Preparing Your Garden for Planting” and “Choosing the Right Fertiliser.” Using a logical content hierarchy improves readability and helps search engines understand the structure of your content.
As you write, incorporate your focus keyphrase naturally into the text, particularly in the introduction, headings, and conclusion. Avoid overloading your content with keywords, as this can negatively impact your SEO rankings. Instead, use semantic keywords, related terms that provide context. For instance, if your focus keyphrase is “organic gardening,” include terms like “natural pest control” or “composting techniques.”
Enhancing with Media
Click on the “+” button in the Gutenberg editor to add images, videos, or other media. Upload files directly from your computer or select existing files from the Media Library. For every image, add an alt tag in the “Alt Text” field. This tag describes the image for search engines and improves accessibility for users with visual impairments. For example, if the image is of a vegetable garden, the alt text might read “A lush organic vegetable garden with tomatoes and cucumbers.”
Before uploading images to your site, it’s super important to resize and optimise them. Why? Because large images can slow down your site, especially on mobile devices, and no one likes a slow website! Another thing to keep in mind is that your image filenames should include the keyword for your content. This helps with SEO since images can rank too!
Make sure each image has a proper title, description, alt text, and caption that uses the keyword. it’s because images can also rank individually in search results, boosting your blog’s visibility.
And here’s a tip: prep all your files before uploading them. Once an image is uploaded, the URL is automatically created using the file name, and you won’t be able to change it later.
To keep your site fast and efficient, use plugins like WebP Converter for Media or tools like Squoosh to compress your images without losing quality. A bit of effort before uploading goes a long way in keeping your site both speedy and search-engine-friendly!
Managing External Links in WordPress
Another thing to watch out for is links within your content. Don’t repeatedly link to the same few pages unless it’s relevant to the topic. When creating links, avoid vague phrases like “click here” or “learn more.” Instead, use descriptive text like “explore our guide to organic gardening” so search engines and users understand the link’s purpose.
When adding external links in WordPress, you have several options to ensure they’re user-friendly and SEO-friendly:
- Nofollow Links: Use rel=”nofollow” to prevent search engines from passing link equity. Ideal for affiliate links, paid promotions, or untrusted sources.
- Sponsored Links: Add rel=”sponsored” for paid or sponsored links to comply with search engine guidelines.
- UGC (User-Generated Content): Use rel=”ugc” for links in comments or forums to indicate they were added by users.
- Open in New Tab: Enable the “Open in a new tab” option to keep users on your site while they view external resources.
- Title Attributes: Add a title to provide a hover description for users, improving clarity about where the link leads.
- Tracking Parameters: Add UTM parameters to track clicks and performance through analytics tools.
By choosing the right attributes for your links, you enhance both usability and SEO while maintaining transparency for users and search engines.
Configuring Metadata
Scroll down to the bottom of the editor, where you’ll find the metadata fields. If your WordPress setup includes a basic SEO plugin, you’ll have fields to add a meta description and preview your post’s appearance in search engine results.
In the meta description field, write a short, compelling summary of your content that includes the focus keyphrase. For example, “Learn 10 expert tips for successful organic gardening, including soil preparation and pest control.” Keep the description under 160 characters to avoid truncation in search results.
Implementing Schema Markup and Rich Snippets
Schema markup helps search engines understand your content better by adding extra context. While some WordPress themes and plugins include built-in schema options, adding custom schema manually can be tricky if you’re not familiar with coding—it usually takes a few hours to get all the snippets right.
My recommendation? Skip the hassle and use Rank Math. It has a free section for working with rich snippets and a paid version with even more options. I use it myself and can’t recommend it enough.
If you want to add schema directly in WordPress, you can use the block editor’s code or metadata sections.
Publishing and Monitoring Performance
Before hitting publish, always preview your content using the “Preview” button in the Gutenberg editor. Make sure the layout looks great on both desktop and mobile devices. Once you’re happy with it, go ahead and click “Publish.”
After publishing, use tools like Google Search Console to track how your content is performing. Keep an eye on metrics like click-through rates, impressions, and average position in search results. Just remember, this data won’t be available immediately, it usually takes about 24 hours to show the previous day’s stats. If your site is new, be patient; Google needs time to crawl and index your pages. It’s totally normal for your first posts to go unnoticed at the start.
The data you get will help you figure out what’s working and highlight areas to improve for future SEO updates. We’ll cover on-page SEO tweaks in another classes.
Categories, Tags, and Archive Pages Made Easy with Information Architecture
A well-structured WordPress site isn’t just about individual posts or pages, it’s about how everything connects. Internal linking, proper use of categories and tags, and managing archive pages are key strategies for creating a site that’s easy to navigate, user-friendly, and optimised for search engines.
Building a Strong Internal Linking Strategy
Internal linking is one of the most effective ways to improve site navigation and SEO. By linking to other relevant content on your site, you guide users to valuable resources while helping search engines understand the relationships between your pages.
To add an internal link in WordPress, highlight the anchor text, this is the clickable text that should be descriptive of the linked content. For example, instead of “click here,” use a phrase like “learn more about organic gardening techniques.” After highlighting the text, click the “Insert Link” button in the editor and paste the URL of the page you want to link to.
Effective internal linking involves more than just connecting random pages. Focus on contextual internal linking, which means linking related content naturally within the text. For example, if you’re writing an article about vegetable gardening, you might link to a post about “5 Best Organic Fertilisers” or “How to Set Up a Raised Garden Bed.”
For key topics on your site, create cornerstone content. These are comprehensive, authoritative articles that serve as the foundation of your site’s main subject areas. Cornerstone content not only educates users but also strengthens your SEO by establishing page authority.
For example, if your website is about gardening, a cornerstone article could be “The Complete Guide to Organic Gardening.” Link to this page frequently from other related posts, using descriptive anchor text like “check out our complete guide to organic gardening.” This signals to search engines that this page is a priority and deserves higher rankings.
Use internal linking to distribute page authority across your site. By linking less authoritative pages to cornerstone content or high-performing pages, you help search engines see the interconnected value of your content.
Managing Categories and Tags
Categories and tags are super important for keeping your content organised and making life easier for your users. But here’s the thing: creating too many categories and tags early on can actually backfire. You might end up with loads of empty URLs because there won’t be enough content to fill them.
My advice? Don’t rush into using them right at the start of your project. Focus on building up a solid amount of content first. Once you’ve got a decent volume, you can distribute it better, but you won’t know how to do that effectively until the content is there. And trust me, creating content is the part that takes the longest, so be patient.
That said, I’ll show you how to add categories and tags as your project grows and when they’re actually needed.
In WordPress, each post should belong to only one category to prevent duplicate content. For example, a post about “Tomato Gardening Tips” might fit under the “Vegetable Gardening” category rather than both “Vegetable Gardening” and “DIY Gardening.” Too many categories can confuse users and dilute your SEO efforts.
Tags, on the other hand, should be used sparingly and only when they add value. For instance, tags like “tomatoes,” “organic fertiliser,” or “plant care” could complement the above post. Avoid creating too many tags with overlapping meanings, as this can lead to tag cannibalisation, where similar tags compete against each other in search engines.
You can manage categories and tags from the WordPress Dashboard by going to Posts > Categories or Posts > Tags. Use clear, descriptive names for each, and ensure they reflect the content structure of your site.
Don’t forget that each category and tag should have a keyword assigned to it, as they create a URL that can rank in search engines. So, be mindful when using tags or categories; they’re not the same as hashtags on social media!
Archive Pages and Pagination
Archive pages automatically organise your posts based on categories, tags, dates, or authors. These pages are essential for improving site navigation and helping users discover older content. For example, a category archive page for “Vegetable Gardening” would display all posts tagged with that category, making it easy for readers to explore related articles.
To customise your archive pages, head over to your theme’s settings or use a page builder plugin. You can add handy elements like headings, short introductions, or images to make the user experience much better. It’s also important to use a logical permalink structure for your archive pages, like yoursite.com/category/vegetable-gardening, to keep your URLs SEO-friendly.
And here’s a tip: you can even remove the “category” part from the URL to make it cleaner and more user-friendly using the Rank Math plugin, but we’ll get to that later!
Pagination is a way to organise large amounts of content, and WordPress automatically paginates blog rolls and archive pages once they exceed a certain number of posts. Personally, I’m not a fan of using this feature because it creates an extra URL for every page of results. I prefer keeping all the content on a single results page instead.
If you want to control how many posts appear per page, you can adjust it in Settings > Reading. To avoid duplicate content issues on paginated archive pages, you can use the web architecture we set up earlier to clearly indicate the relationship between pages.
Media: Managing Images and Files in WordPress
The Media Library in WordPress is the central repository for all the images, videos, and documents you upload to your site. Proper management of media files is critical for maintaining fast loading speeds, optimising SEO, and ensuring accessibility.
To access the Media Library, navigate to “Media” from the WordPress Dashboard. Here, you can view, edit, and organise all your uploaded files. To add new media, click on “Add New” and either drag files into the upload area or select them manually from your computer.
When uploading images, it’s essential to optimise their file sizes to improve page loading times, especially on mobile devices where slow load speeds can lead to high bounce rates.
Once uploaded, click on any image in the Media Library to edit its details. In the “Alt Text” field, enter a descriptive explanation of the image. For example, if you’ve uploaded a photo of a sunflower, you could use “Close-up of a yellow sunflower in a garden.” This not only enhances accessibility for visually impaired users but also helps search engines understand the context of your images, boosting your SEO.
For better organisation, rename files with clear and relevant names before uploading, such as “organic-garden-sunflower.jpg” instead of “IMG1234.jpg.” This makes it easier to manage your media library as it grows and provides additional context to search engines.
Comments: Engaging with Your Audience
The Comments section in WordPress is where you manage all user interactions with your posts. Allowing comments can foster a sense of community on your site and encourage engagement, but they must be moderated to maintain quality and prevent spam.
To access and manage comments, go to the “Comments” section in the Dashboard. Each comment will display the user’s name, email, and the content of their comment. You have several options for managing comments: approve, reply, mark as spam, or delete. Approved comments appear publicly on your site, while spam comments are filtered into a separate section.
To moderate effectively, enable manual approval for comments. This can be configured by navigating to Settings > Discussion and checking the “Comment must be manually approved” option. This ensures that only appropriate and relevant comments are displayed on your site.
Replying to genuine comments not only shows your audience that you value their input but also helps build trust and encourage further interaction. Keep your responses professional, friendly, and relevant to the discussion. For example, if someone praises a blog post, a simple “Thank you for your feedback! Glad you found it helpful!” can go a long way.
Spam comments, often filled with irrelevant links or harmful content, can harm your site’s credibility. Use plugins like Antispam Bee to filter and manage spam automatically.
Tools: Enhancing Your Site’s Health and Performance
The Tools section in WordPress provides several utilities for maintaining your site’s health and performance. These tools are essential for troubleshooting, improving speed, and managing your site’s content.
The Site Health feature, accessible via Tools > Site Health, provides a detailed overview of your site’s current status. It identifies issues such as outdated plugins, missing security updates, or configuration errors. Each issue is categorised as either “Critical” or “Recommended,” making it easy to prioritise fixes. For example, if Site Health detects that your PHP version is outdated, it will provide a guide on updating to the latest version, which improves both security and performance.
Additionally, advanced users can use the “Export Personal Data” and “Erase Personal Data” options to comply with data protection regulations like GDPR. This makes it easy to handle user data requests while maintaining legal compliance.
By regularly checking the Tools section, addressing Site Health recommendations, and keeping backups of your content, you ensure that your WordPress site remains fast, secure, and SEO-friendly. A well-maintained site not only delivers a better user experience but also performs better in search engine rankings.
