WordPress has revolutionized the world of websites and blogging. With almost 3 million active sites, this is a deserved success. However, with that much popularity comes a lot of collateral damage.

WordPress is a great choice for website builders and it can be used for all sorts of purposes. Some websites are created to sell products and services, others are made to create online merchants, some use WordPress to host blogs and others use WordPress as a platform to host their own sites.

Regardless of the purpose, your WordPress site is your online business. It’s your online destination for visitors and customers, a place where your brand can be discovered and built on.

Unfortunately, it’s also the place where many website owners make mistakes that not only hurt their landing pages, but also the success of the business. Here are 7 terrible mistakes you need to avoid with your WordPress site.

  1. Choosing the Wrong Platform

Let’s begin with a crucial mistake that most WordPress users (especially beginners) seem to make, that is, choosing the right WordPress platform for their website.

There are basically two types of WordPress. Before WordPress.org, the well-known self-hosted WordPress platform that everyone adores, there is WordPress.com, a blog hosting service.

These are both platforms for WordPress, of course, but their setup and design freedom are different. Before you begin creating a website, make sure you are aware of the differences and connections between the two.

Read a detailed description of why you should convert your WordPress.com blog to WordPress.org here.

  1. Using Poorly Coded Themes

Selecting a WordPress theme is another major mistake that most WordPress users make. It is one of the most crucial factors to consider because it serves as the basis for your SEO efforts. But sadly, most themes perform poorly in this area.

There are countless WordPress themes available in the market. And many of these are available for free. But many WordPress themes are poorly designed and coded.

Additionally, a large number of the ones you find listed in different places are completely unsupported and are not frequently updated.

Thus you need to make sure that the theme you choose is:

  • Supportive
  • Responsive
  • Regularly updated
  • Offers all the necessary tools

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  1. Not Configuring Permalinks

Another extremely simple yet vital mistake that most WordPress users seem to make over and over again is permalink configuration.

The term “permalink” refers to a permanent link on your website. It is the complete URL that you can see and use for each specific post, page, or other piece of content on your website.

Search engines like Google and others index and crawl your website to find relevant material. However, you might want to think about updating the permalink to something more evergreen if the information is still current.

A good URL structure aids search engines in comprehending the hierarchy of your website, making an absolutely necessary and relatively simple adjustment.

By choosing the desired style under Settings > Permalink, WordPress makes it simple to modify a permalink.

Alternatively, you can achieve this with the aid of a number of plugins. It sends any outdated permalinks to the new structure you choose.

  1. Skipping Updates

Furthermore, a major mistake that WordPress users make is skipping updates. It is astonishing how outdated some users are willing to let their plugins, themes, and even the WordPress core gets.

This common error could have disastrous results because these updates fix performance, design, and usability concerns as well as security gaps that could allow hackers to access your website with ease.

A number of issues can be brought on by outdated plugins. Corrupt plugins might potentially jeopardize the WordPress security of your site by causing crashes or slow website performance.

Developers frequently provide updates that include codes to fix security gaps in plugins. This is why updating plugins as soon as they are available is a smart idea.

WordPress releases core updates frequently to keep WordPress sites operating properly. Updates to the WordPress core can add interesting new features and address emerging security threats and functionality issues.

As soon as a new update for WordPress rolls out, you should update it. Waiting too long to update can leave your website open and vulnerable to a variety of other issues including hacking, stolen information, or losing your entire website.

  1. Choosing a Wrong Host

Another terrible mistake that WordPress users usually make is choosing the wrong hosting platform. Consider the aspects crucial to you when selecting a web host, such as technical assistance, security, load times, and automatic backups.

Before putting up your website, do some research and compare service providers. Once you have the ideal hosting option in place, you can guarantee that you won’t experience this typical WordPress blunder anymore.

  1. Not Backing Up Your WordPress Website

If you’re a website owner who thinks proper backup isn’t a necessity, you’ve never been more wrong. All users require automated backups. It is in fact, a crucial part of having a website.

In addition to making it simple for you to undo changes, it might also make it possible for you to quickly recover from a hack by restoring an earlier version of your website.

Related Read: Why is it necessary to maintain WordPress websites?

Having daily backups of your website in place is a key component of WordPress development best practices. However, your backup plan will be somewhat influenced by how frequently you update your website, but it should run at least once per week.

Many hosting companies will perform backups for you automatically. But you can also use several top-notch WordPress backup plugins to accomplish this. In either case, it’s a common mistake that you should definitely steer clear of.

  1. Using Excessive Plugins

The WordPress community is heavily dependent on the use of plugins. In fact, WordPress’s plugins are where its true strength lies. And there are plugins for everything to make your website better. But not all plugins are useful.

In reality, certain plugins can harm your website’s security and performance. While employing too many plugins can cause several issues, including security breaches, website crashes, and sluggish loading times, they can also prove to be quite helpful in running your site.

Thus, we advise you to install plugins that are strictly necessary in order to prevent these issues and avoid everything else. The best practice is to just install reliable plugins that assist you and your website’s users the most, even though there is no defined limit on the appropriate quantity.

Conclusion

If you’re using WordPress to build your website, you could be making some serious mistakes that could hurt your business. This article listed seven of the most common mistakes people make with WordPress. Avoid these mistakes to ensure your website is successful.

Furthermore, get in touch with Australia’s best Website Developers today to take care of your website today.

WP Creative’s monthly WordPress support and maintenance plans offer you complete protection and optimisation of your website. We’ll take care of the tech, so you can take care of business.