“Hey Google, Best Web Development Companies in India” And you quickly land on an extraordinary-looking website. Now in the following process little did we know that a great-looking WordPress website is something that has the potential to boost any business’s confidence and productivity. In other words, your online presence can make you feel sexually appealing to a great extent. Fortunately, there are a plethora of ways, hacks, and tricks that can be game-changers for you! And I am sure you are here because you are expecting some kind of magic formula. Well, here by the end of the following post, you will find some of the best WordPress tips and tricks that have worked for me all these years and I am sure they can assist you well in this journey of developing and maintaining a strong online presence. Gaining a competitive edge is of course some of the other perks to consider.
Of course, it’s just not WordPress anymore! You can develop your website on any other recommendable platform such as Magento, Shopify, WooCommerce, or bigCommerce. In fact, WooCommerce can be called a subset of WordPress. On that note, In this world of online business stores, any company that wants to turn digital would require a powerful environment to create a customizable e-commerce platform. And for this, the two most popular e-commerce platforms WooCommerce and Magento are used. And you know what’s the best part? Each one of these platforms is it WordPress, Magento, or Shopify has the potential to up your game in one way or the other.
The following post simply focuses on WordPress. Some of the best tips, hacks, and tricks to take into account right away to gain a competitive edge in 2023.
Table of Contents
Why Use WordPress?
Gone are the days when WordPress was considered simply as a mere blogging platform. Today, WordPress is used for a plethora of purposes such as creating an eCommerce store, web portal resumes, membership sites, entertainment websites, and a lot more. Now here comes the big question, why should you be using WordPress in 2023?
1.) Open-Source:
Well, one of the core reasons is that it is a powerful website builder and a robust content management system (CMS). In addition to this, when you have such a powerful platform, of course, it comes with a hefty price. Fortunately, that’s not the case with WordPress. This is an open-source platform that is available for free. It means as soon as you decide on the platform you can download, install, use, and modify it right in accordance with your changing needs. In addition, there is no need for any kind of domain name or web hosting services.
2.) Easy To Use:
Another crucial benefit offered by WordPress is that it is pretty easy to use. Yes, the platform is pretty powerful, flexible, and scalable. Yet, it turns out to be way easier to use. No kidding! If you are someone who is not much tech-savvy, then choosing WordPress is the wisest decision to make. Here all you have to do is take care of the dashboard, create different posts and pages, add an intimidating theme, navigation menus and so more! And not just that! You will come across several backup plugins that can assist you well in recovering the lost data. So yes, apart from great looks, WordPress definitely offers amazing security. So don’t fret about your data being deleted or lost.
Also, in case, if you get stuck somewhere, you will find a plethora of relevant information or tutorials that can assist well in the nick of time.
3.) All Type CMS:
You see Magento can be considered for eCommerce stores but WordPress is one such platform that can be considered for any and every type of website. Be it an eCommerce store, creating a virtual classroom, creating different forums, social media platforms, web portals, media, entertainment portals, and whatnot! You name it and WordPress can have you covered!
4.) Huge Community:
One of the best advantages of WordPress is that it has a huge community featuring professionals who are mid-level and high-level experienced. The community features everyone right from beginners to veterans who are ready to assist whenever in need. So even if the developer gets stuck somewhere, they can receive help in a very short span of time. So yes, having a huge and active community of professionals is a blessing in disguise.
5.) Easy And Seamless Maintenance:
The next advantage of WordPress is that it is overall pretty easy to maintain afterward. All you have to do is:
- Keep updating CMS
- Update all the plugins and themes
- Manage site comments
- Ensure the website is highly optimized and secure
- Backing up is easy and feasible
Further, I would like to focus on the best tips and tricks to take into account, especially in regard to WordPress.
Top 10 WordPress Hacks To Consider:
1.) Keep Your Tabs On The Broken Links:
One of the best hacks you can think of when working on a WordPress platform is to keep a keen eye on the broken links. You see with the years passing by and your site aging, there are fair chances of links tending to break and chances are pretty high that you may not even notice it. Now, this situation generally happens when the site is renamed or moved, or even deleted. And that’s why your end users might face the famous 404 error.
2.) Get Rid Of All The Unnecessary Plugins:
Now one of the major issues found among WordPress-based sites is that it comprises a wide range of plugins especially the ones which are never used. Keeping these unnecessary plugins and tools can create quite a fuss for you as well as the end user. So even when these are cheap or available for free, just ensure to get rid of those which you aren’t using again and again. Some of these cheap-looking plugins also have a dark side and have the potential to adversely affect the speed of your website. Which eventually can be a major turn-off. So I am saying don’t incorporate these plugins at all but try to think hard about whether you need such kinds of functions or not. Also, try thinking about its alternatives. I mean can you find any lightweight plugin in regards to code? If so, replace it right away!
3.) Paid Plugins Shouldn’t Be Avoided Just Because They Cost Money:
One of the major issues or major drawbacks when maintaining a WordPress website is that we always tend to avoid costly things and plugins are no exception. Yes, many people are found ignoring paid plugins or extensions because they cost money. Well, it might come with a cost but it could be worth considering any other type of paid plugin. So don’t be so quick to judge. Take a close look at both kinds of options and then decide which one is better.
4.) Free Trials Must Be Taken:
These themes, plugins, and extensions have the potential to up your online game in no time. So don’t make any kind of random decisions. Check if the developer offers some free trials or demos, if so then don’t let the opportunity go. Simply grab it! In fact, there are times when demos might not be available for you so then what you can do is start looking for reliable free versions. At least, you will understand the overall look and feel of the plugin. Free trials and demos are the best ways to test them. Also, do ensure to back up your website before installing any new plugins or a theme.
5.) Content Should Be Highly Engaging:
Content is king – No kidding! Even today, well-written content has the potential to stand out and provide you with a competitive edge over others. Today, pieces that are poorly written or full of mistakes are easily dodged. Today, aesthetics, and nit-picking is what is required. Even Google cares a lot about poor grammar, incorrect spelling, and poorly structured content, whether it’s mere blog or website content or any other aspect. So for that matter, you can seek assistance from tools such as Hemingway App or Grammarly or write-in applications such as Microsoft Word or Google Docs. Also, other than grammar-free, the content has to be plag-free and of course, highly engaging.
6.) Enhance Site’s Navigation:
Have you ever wondered why more and more end users visit a website and all of a sudden switch to another website? In fact, have you done that? You land up on one particular site for information but within a few seconds, you just switch. That’s because the site’s navigation is pretty poor. As a businessperson, I have come across many of you who tend to overlook the concept of navigation. Well, if you don’t try enhancing the website’s navigation then there are fair chances of a bad customer experience and this definitely results in increased bounce rate, SEO and so more!
When you try enhancing the navigation, overall the site’s performance gets improved. You see here not just from your perspective but your end users can find what they exactly need. Now the big question is how to do so.
- Use straightforward titles
- Create clear categories and sub-categories
- Make sure all the elements are simply clickable
- Traveling from one section or navigating from one section to another is easier and better.
- Try using mega menus
7.) Backup Database At Regular Intervals:
Another interesting tip or hack to take into account is baking up your data at regular intervals. Once the site is launched, businesses often ignore the practice of maintaining the website and backing up data every now and then. As a result, they end up losing all the relevant and reliable information. Sometimes installing new plugins, and extensions especially free ones can be quite harmful than good. They might come with viruses that destroy your kingdom. So during such crucial times having a backup is pretty important and necessary. Businesses not backing up their data are considered one of the prime targets of the bad guys.
8.) Social Media Presence:
Apart from driving licenses or voter ID cards, social media presence seems to be one of the most amazing and solid proofs, for individuals as well as businesses. Not having a presence on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn can be a major turn-off for the end users. Because before judging your site, they will visit your social media page. In fact, you never know if most of your traffic might come from the social media page. Start by sharing handy social media buttons and add-ons for platforms such as Pinterest, Instagram, and a lot more.
9.) Compress Images:
Another major issue faced by website owners, as well as customers, is the pressure of creating a correct image size. You see, sometimes it is very crucial to compress your images. For example, by doing so, your website tends to load faster and you can save storage space to a great extent. Compressing images can be done manually as well as automatically. Also, you can use free versions of Kraken.io, ImageResize, and Optimizilla.
Also, you can speed up your site to use caching plugins. I would highly recommend you start considering WordPress caching add-ons.
10.) Robust Seo Approaches:
SEO, Search Engine Optimization is one of the leading factors in today’s times. Though I am mentioning this WordPress hack as the last one, it certainly doesn’t mean it’s the least one. Every small and large size business seems to be trending toward the term SEO. Creating SEO-friendly websites is a must these days or else not just your visitors but even Google doesn’t take you seriously. You can seek assistance from different plugins and tools such as Yoast SEO, All in One SEO Pack, or The SEO Framework. You can even consider hiring reliable professionals who can reduce your load and ensure to make your site ranks better.
Conclusion:
So that’s all for now! You see, since its inception, WordPress has grown in terms of every manner and there is no going back. So in other words, WordPress can be considered one of the safest and most amazing options to consider when creating a strong online presence. I hope you did find the aforementioned tips and tricks helpful. In case, if there is anything else that you would like to know about WordPress, feel free to mention that in the comment section below. Also, do help us out by sharing the post with your peers. Good luck with your new online venture!
About the Author:Manoj Sharma is a web developer at a reputed web development company eTatvasoft. He loves to write technical blogs related to WordPress, Joomla, and other PHP-based CMS frameworks in his leisure time. You can find his bylines in many of the famous blogs.
Hello,
Thank you so much for sharing this very informative article. This will help me and many others also. thanks a lot.
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