As a beginner blogger, you might simply be overwhelmed with the task of setting up your WordPress website. I mean, you might have a very clear idea of what your website should look like, yet not know how to turn intent into reality. There’s just so much information out there: so many WordPress themes, WordPress plugins, widgets and security concerns, that you would almost be forced to sit in a corner sobbing your heart out. However, all you really need is to know the essential settings after installing WordPress.
Thus, to make your life easier we will be looking at those essential WordPress settings that will help you to create a successful WordPress site. These settings will help you to not only secure your site but they will also make sure that it performs faster and is optimized. There are tons of things to do after installing WordPress, but for simplicity’s sake we have whittled them down to 17.
If you’re a beginner blogger, or just don’t know what to do, then buckle up and read on this setting up WordPress guide. Furthermore, from these settings, you can create a checklist for future purposes. However, for now, for our discussion on how to configure WordPress, we will look at these WordPress essential settings in chronological order, so you can easily follow along.
Further reading: Difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
Contents
- 1. Reset Installation Password
- 2. Clean Up Your WordPress Dashboard
- 3. Setup Your Website’s Title
- 4. Set Your Site Tagline
- 5. Setup Your Preferred Site Address-WordPress(URL) & Site Address (URL)
- 6. Review Membership Options Under General Settings
- 7. Setup Language Preferences
- 8. Set The Date And Time Settings
- 9. Update WordPress Version
- 10. Delete Dummy Content
- 11. Create Basic Pages
- 12. Setup Your Site Menu
- 13. Delete Unused Plugins And Themes
- 14. Update All Existing Plugins
- 15. Set Up Permalinks
- 16. Add And Remove Widgets On The Sidebar
- 17. Create Post Categories
1. Reset Installation Password
With your access to HostGator cPanel, you’ll be able to download WordPress using an installer. Once you’ve installed WordPress, you’ll also get an initial password to use when accessing the WordPress dashboard.
However, the first thing you want to do after installing WordPress is to reset your password. WordPress will give you the option to use an auto-generated password, but these can be vulnerable to brute force attacks. The best thing to do is to set up a password of your own that is both strong and memorable to you.
How To Reset Your WordPress Password
- Log in to your WordPress dashboard.
- Look at the menu on the left sidebar. You should find the ‘Users’ menu and in there you will find the sub-menu – ‘Your Profile.’
Here you have the choice of generating a strong password or using your own. Each has its advantages and disadvantages. If you choose to generate one then click ‘generate password’ and you will get a strong one. If you do not want to use the WordPress generator, there are password generator alternatives out there such as LastPass and Password Generator that you can use.
Enter your new password and then click on ‘Update profile.’
2. Clean Up Your WordPress Dashboard
Depending on how you install WordPress, you may find a few extra goodies on your dashboard. These may be unnecessary for your purposes. If it is not necessary then you should remove it. Many of these are third-party plugins that are bundled up with WordPress when you use the cPanel installer. Some are just default widgets that you do not need to see every single time you log on.
How To Clean Up Your Dashboard
- Go to the top of your WordPress dashboard, there you should look for and find ‘Screen Options.’ It has drop-down options. This option allows you to configure the WordPress dashboard ensuring you have a less cluttered workspace on your dashboard.
- When you open the Screen Options drop-down menu, you will see the different things you can see on your dashboard. Now all you have to do is to check the ones you want to see on your dashboard. Just keep those widgets that you will need on a constant basis when managing your site. Unchecking will hide those you do not want to see.
3. Setup Your Website’s Title
When you install WordPress, you will most likely have the default WordPress website title to start off with. You should change this by going to the ‘WordPress General Settings.’
How To Setup Your Website’s Title (WordPress Dashboard)
- Go to the menu on the left sidebar. Find and click on Settings then General Settings.
- Next, you will now see that Site Title box. This is where you type your site title.
How To Setup Your Website’s Title via WordPress Customizer
- When you are inside the WordPress customizer, go to the Appearance Menu on the left sidebar dashboard menu. Find the Site Identity sub-menu.
- Type in the name of your site in the option for Site Title. You can also include the tagline of your website.
After saving the settings, you will be able to see your title on the front page of your site. It will also be available in the search results. This is basically what your site is about.
4. Set Your Site Tagline
The tagline is a branding point. It tells people what your site and brand is about. It should be creative and should be in line with your brand. When you first install WordPress, you will have the default tagline ‘Just another WordPress site.’ This is not exactly what you want your site to say about your brand. So you should change it to something more ‘personal.’
How To Change The Tagline in WordPress
- Go to General Settings.
- Next, under the Site Title heading, you’d come across the box ‘tagline.’ Here, enter your tagline and when you save the settings, your tagline should appear on your site front end as well as in the title tag.
5. Setup Your Preferred Site Address-WordPress(URL) & Site Address (URL)
One of the most important things to do after installing WordPress is to set up the preferred site address. This address is a means for your visitors to get to your site.
This is the address they will type in when they want to come to your site. This off-course depends on what you want your site to look like. All you have to do is type it into the WordPress address field and if you want your homepage to be different then you can type it in here as well.
6. Review Membership Options Under General Settings
Next up in your WordPress site settings is the option to set the conditions for membership. You do this to make sure spammers do not have the opportunity to register on your site. Find membership under General Settings and uncheck ‘anyone can register.’
That is all!
7. Setup Language Preferences
On WordPress you can set the language you would like to use. WordPress has a very long list of languages to choose from. In the case that you are using a language different from English, you may want to use WordPress translation services by installing one of the many amazing multi-lingual WordPress translational plugins.
How To Set Your Language Preferences
- Once again go to General Settings, find the Site Language option.
- Choose your language of choice and save.
You can also set the language preference setting when you are manually installing WordPress. Some themes are translation ready and make it easier to blog in different languages.
Read: Blogging Tools and Tips To Increase Productivity
8. Set The Date And Time Settings
This is to give you control over how the date and time appears on your WordPress site. You will be able to control how it is displayed, the time format as well as when your week will begin. To set WordPress timezone, you can follow the below instructions.
How To Change Timezone on WordPress
- Go to the General Settings menu. Find the date and time options.
- Change and configure to your liking. This is important for scheduling publications and once done click on ‘Save changes.’
9. Update WordPress Version
When you install WordPress you may get an older version of WordPress with your installation. You have to look for the update notice. To secure and optimize your WordPress site, you have to make sure it is fully updated. When you see the update notification at the top of your dashboard, click on it and press ‘Please Update Now.’ Back up your site as needed when you update.
10. Delete Dummy Content
When you first install WordPress you will see that there are some pages and posts already published. These are place-holder or dummy pages and are there only to show you where everything goes. You should delete these. The way to do it is to delete the ‘Hello World’ sample post as well as the Sample page.
To delete;
- Go to WordPress Pages settings in the menu then click ‘All Pages’ and delete the ‘Sample Page.’
- Likewise, you can delete the sample post by clicking on WordPress Post settings in the menu then click ‘All Posts’ and delete ‘Hello World.’
11. Create Basic Pages
Now that you have cleaned out your WordPress backend, you have to start creating. You would need to create the basic site pages, that every site should have. Some necessary pages to have are the About Us page, Contact and Privacy Policy pages.
The About page tells your readers what your website is about and aims for. Read this article to know how to write a stunning about me page.
The Contact page includes details about you (email, phone number and address) enabling your audience to reach you. The Privacy Policy is there to reassure users that any personal information they give you will be handled appropriately.
How To Create Basic Site Pages on WordPress
- Go to the ‘Pages’ sub-menu and click on ‘Add New.’
- Fill in the page title: either Homepage, About Us, Contact, Privacy Policy, etc
Creating these now while doing your WordPress setup settings is crucial for creating your menu. You will have to use a plugin in order to create a contact form. You will use the shortcode from this plugin in order to do this. There are many WordPress contact form plugins out there that you can use.
12. Setup Your Site Menu
Now all you have to do is set up the site menu, which is easy.
How To Set Up A WordPress Site Menu
- Go to the ‘Appearance’ menu in the left sidebar and click on ‘Menus.
- First, create a menu and name it. Add items to it by clicking on pages on the left and then ‘Add to menu.’ You can reorder items by dragging and dropping.
You can manage the menu locations by using the Manage Menu tab. This will let you put the menu in specific areas on your website. Be it in the footer or as a primary menu. Once saved, you can view the results on the front-end and see if you like it.
13. Delete Unused Plugins And Themes
While there are many WordPress themes for blogs and websites and an equally extensive list of WordPress plugins that you can install, you need to ensure that your website is not bogged down by themes and plugins that are not in use. So, as one of the important parts of your WordPress website maintenance tasks, you should delete as many unnecessary plugins or themes as possible.
Just make sure you have an updated default WordPress theme. Do not delete your default WordPress theme because if something happens for some reason and your theme is broken, your website will automatically revert to the default. So just keep it updated!
14. Update All Existing Plugins
It’s annoying to get spam on your WordPress site, therefore you need to install plugins like Akismet to avoid this problem. Also, some of the plugins need to be updated from time-to-time. First, check the plugin page for any updates and then click on the ‘update now’ link for each plugin.
15. Set Up Permalinks
Setting permalinks is extremely important when you are changing your WordPress settings, as it controls how your post URL’s will look like when published. Permalinks also help with SEO, so do not stick to the default setting.
How To Set Permalinks in WordPress
- Go to Permalinks menu under Settings.
- Select one from the given list. However, to gain SEO value, you should change it to post name or a custom structure. If you choose Custom Structure, you can also add a category and post ID.
It is also important to change permalinks with caution as tampering with them may make content from before the change to show up as 404 pages.
16. Add And Remove Widgets On The Sidebar
You can find widgets on almost every WordPress theme. You can put them on the sidebars either left or right.
Some have more widgeted areas but on WordPress, the default area is the sidebar. You will also find that WordPress has inbuilt widgets for you to add and use.
How To Add Widgets in WordPress
- Click on the Appearance menu then Widgets.
- On the widgets page, you will see the widgets that are available on the left side. You can then drag and drop them to the right.
If you want to have access to more settings click on the drop-down arrow. Adding new widgets is as easy as searching for available ones by going to add new under the plugin menu.
17. Create Post Categories
Categories are groups that your posts are put into when you add and create them. When you start setting up your site, you will most probably know what it will be about. You may also most probably know what the first few posts will be about. Use this knowledge to create your categories. They will not only help with SEO but will as well make your site easier to navigate.
How To Create Categories in WordPress
- Go to the Posts menu and click on Category.
- Fill the category details including the name, slug and short description.
Do not leave the ‘Uncategorized’ as the default category. Change it to a category you can use.
Conclusion
After you have installed WordPress, configuring these settings should now be much easier. There are free options to some of the plugins, should you wish to go that route. So make sure to do some research on different plugins, so you can get the best one for your purposes. These are only beginner and intermediate level WordPress site settings.
They require some basic navigation skills but do not require you to have an advanced knowledge of WordPress theme editing. Other than that, use these WordPress settings as a checklist when setting up your site and have fun with securing, optimising and speeding up your WordPress site.
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