12 Most Common WordPress Mistakes You Need To Avoid
At first, no one is perfect. If you are just using WordPress for the first time, then definitely you’ll make a lot more blunders than you imagine. To help you avoid making these errors, we’ve come into some common WordPress mistakes so that you can stay away from repeating the same mistakes again and again.
Shall we begin? Here are 12 Common WordPress Mistakes you need to avoid when you get started.
Common WordPress Mistakes You Need To Avoid
Mistake #1: Choosing the Wrong Platform
Many WordPress beginners often get confused when it comes to choosing between Free WordPress.com vs Self-hosted WordPress.org. It is very important to know the difference between them and which one is the best choice for your new WordPress blog because they have their own features and fallacies.
We already discussed in our previous tutorial, regarding some pros and cons or WordPress.com and WordPress.org and how they are equally good in their own way. Do some research and choose what best suits you.
Mistake #2: Not Updating Default Username
This is another blunder WordPress mistake most newbies make. When you install WordPress for the first time, by default it will create username ‘admin‘ as an administrative privilege when you login. If you do not change it sooner, the hackers will more likely to sneak into your WordPress site using few hacking techniques like Brute Force Attacks. This is just hacker’s stairway to heaven.
Therefore, you should change the default username during the WordPress installation. Just don’t keep on clicking next and next button, it takes less than 5 seconds to choose a username. Moreover, do not forget to include numbers or special characters in both Username and Password. This way you are safer.
Mistake #3: Installing Unnecessary Plugins
This is one of the many Common WordPress Mistakes you need to avoid. What newbies really do in excitement is they install way more plugins than the site needs. For testing purpose it is fine but installing unnecessary plugins on the live site just doesn’t make sense. Believe it or not, this will slowly haunt your site. Of course, plugins add functionality to your site but it doesn’t mean you should install many as you like.
The disadvantages of using numerous plugins are:
- Your site takes more time to load since plugins have more scripts and stylesheets.
- Old plugin versions may ruin the performance of your site.
- The Hackers will access your site if you use untrusted plugins.
Here are some tips before you start installing plugins. First thing first, you need to ask yourself if you really need to install particular plugin in the first place. If yes, check the user’s average ratings, the number of active installs, and most importantly check if the plugin is up to date and works fine to your latest WordPress versions. Either way, a little research is wise.
Mistake #4: Staying With The Default Theme
There are literally more than thousands and thousands of themes and plugins available for free at WordPress repository. Still, many bloggers stick with the default WordPress Themes like Twenty Seventeen, Twenty Sixteen, etc. Yes, they are best for your website only if you know how to customize them. If you are just a starter, choose the theme with a different layout.
Another mistake is they download and install sites from untrusted sites like torrents and third-party websites. Most of them have bugs in them which they will eventually try to hack your website in the near future.
Mistake #5: Using the Default Favicon
Just like the logo, a favicon plays an important role in the identification of your site. Favicons are the small icons which can be seen up to your browser window at the left side of your page title. Many WordPress beginners completely ignore their favicons and use the default one from their web hosting services or theme company.
Change it right now if you haven’t already. If you don’t know how to do it, you can take a look at this tutorial on how to change your favicon in WordPress.
Mistake #6: Ignoring Major Updates for Plugins, Themes, and WordPress
All your Theme, Plugins and WordPress should be up to date. It is because the developers change the major issues on these things and for security purpose, these updates are incredibly important. Once you login to your WordPress site, on the left side of the Dashboard, you will see the major orange circle with the number in it. That means updates are available for you. Do not hesitate to update all the available updates once you notice it.
Mistake #7: Using the Free Hosting Services
Many WordPress beginners take free things for granted and use free hosting services like 000webhost, , AwardSpace, Weebly, etc. for their live site. Little do they realize that when they use these free hosting services, they are ruining their site’s reputation. For instance, free hosting services may shut down your site at any time and provides you with very little features. Also, they display unnecessary ads to your site without your permission.
There are a few trusted web hosting services like Hostgator which is available for very less price and have 24/7 hour support. So it is necessary to choose your web hosting service very wisely.
Mistake #8: Updating Your Live Site without Testing
There is nothing wrong with updating your live website. But if you are just a beginner, you could bring your whole system down. You are more likely to make a mistake if you are not aware of the codes.
To avoid such common WordPress mistakes, it is wise to update your website on the testing site. Do not forget to backup your website files, if you are almost ready to update them
Mistake #9: Not Using a Child Theme to Update the files
This is one of the very crucial mistakes that WordPress beginners make. You probably are already excited to tweak some codes to customize your website. However, instead of creating a child theme, you happen to change the core theme files. It is very unprofessional to do so.
While that method would work for some time, your customization will be reverted back to the previous state once you update that theme. That’s why it is important to create a child theme before making changes to the site.
Mistake #10: Sticking with the Default Tagline “Just Another Blog”
After the very fresh WordPress installation, your site comes with “Just Another Blog” tagline. Many starters either forget or ignore to change it and slowly Google will index the tagline. This is very bad for your site’s reputation.
That is why it is recommended to pick a relevant tagline related to your blog. You can change or remove the default tagline by visiting Setting -> General from your WordPress Dashboard.
Mistake #11: Using the Default Permalink Structure
A permalink is a permanent hyperlink to the individual blog post or pages in your WordPress site. By default, WordPress comes with a permalink structure like www.your-site.com/?p=12. It is equally bad for SEO as well as bad professionalism to your readers.
You can avoid this mistake by login into your dashboard and visit Settings >> Permalinks. Then use an appropriate option for your permalink structure.
Mistake #12: Not Having A Contact Form
Contact form is not for yourself rather it is for your visitors. Contact form is where your visitors send you a message regarding suggestions, requests, appreciations, etc. What most WordPress newbies ignore is that they miss a separate contact page to include on their sites. Moreover, if you are monetizing your website for Google AdSense and you have submitted for AdSense approval, they will instantly decline your request if your site doesn’t have separate contact page.
Our high recommendation Contact Form plugin is Contact Form 7. It is simple to use and trusted by million users.
Now you know the most 12 Common WordPress Mistakes you need to avoid. Have you encountered any WordPress mistakes in the past? Or do you think we missed any major mistakes? Let us know by leaving your comment in the form below.
