A 13-Step Conclusive Checklist for a Functional WordPress Website

PUBLISHED: FEBRUARY 26, 2015 – ARTICLE: CHECKLIST FOR A FUNCTIONAL WORDPRESS WEBSITE

 

When it comes to content management systems (CMS), there is no doubt that WordPress is one of a kind. There are multiple website platforms like Easysite that you can create a website on, but WP, which is celebrating 11 years, is by far one of the most used content management systems.

Fascinating WordPress User Stats
This brainchild of Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little has revolutionized the internet and it is no wonder 48% of Technocrati’s websites are managed with WordPress. These websites include CNN, BBC, eBay, Mashable and New York Times, to mention but a few global brands who have discovered the efficiency of WordPress.

As of February 2014, 75 million websites were running on WordPress while 22% of new registered U.S. domains run on this CMS. But that’s not all. 6 new WordPress posts are published every second, with 29,000 plugins daily, to make running your website even smoother.

Creating Your WordPress Website

Perhaps your online business platform urgently needs a WordPress website which you can easily create. Whether you are a beginner or you have some IT background, the following steps will give you a performance enhanced business platform. Here you go:

1. Create A WordPress Launch Checklist

They say you cannot make a journey without the right directions, and for a website, you need to have a checklist to offload the task of remembering myriad tiny details. What’s more, a checklist like the one provided below makes your work easy and guides you through the pre-launch, launch and eventually post-launch of your WP website.

2. Choosing Your Domain

This is the first step in the pre-launch phase on your website. It is the address that will enable visitors to get you online after launching. For instance, facebook.com is a domain name that makes it easy to find this social media platform.

You need to understand that a prefix such as www or http/ is optional and users will still find you online even if you omit the prefix. Four aspects of your domain come into play here including:

• Top-level domain (TLD): This is the most recognizable part of a domain with the most common being .com, .org, .co.uk, among others. They are popular and getting one is quite tricky as most are already registered.

• Root domain: This is the part of your domain name which you actually choose and register your online website under. Your root domain should be easy to remember, catchy and concise in order to direct relevant traffic to your page. A root domain is made up of letters, numbers and hyphens and it has to be totally unique for you to purchase it.

• Sub-domains: This part of your domain appears before the root domain and can be created at no cost if you already own a particular root domain. It helps you capture a wider target market and is highly competitive.

• Subfolders: These are listed after your top-level domain to direct users to specific landing pages on your website. These get similar benefits from web metrics which determine your page SEO ranking.

It is natural to get lost when choosing all these and this is where a remote DBA services expert comes in handy as your domain registration consultant. Did you know that Easysite gives you a free domain when you sign up, you can even try create your own website free for 30 days.

3. Choosing Your Web Host Plan

This is a critical step which determines how well your WordPress website will function. You should look for a web hosting plan that offers unlimited bandwidth and storage to ensure your site is always up and running.

Check for up-time guarantees, WordPress hosting on the package, reliability of the web host, extra features on their offers including business emails, SQL databases and 24/7 customer support. Moreover, ensure the web host offers upgrades when need be and ask for a trial period to get acquainted with a company’s services.

4. Configure The Name Servers

If you bought a domain name and a hosting plan as a package, you will skip this step. This involves pointing the domain to the host name servers to enable connection. This is done from the control panels where you will change name servers.

5. Upload WordPress

At this stage, download and unzip WP and then upload it using file transfer protocol (FTP). You should have an FTP program ready in your computer, and after providing FTP credentials, you will then upload WordPress in the public files.

6. Create A Database
This is another important determiner of your website’s performance as all your data files are stored here. Your CMS queries the database every time a user tries to load your page. Again, the input of a remote database administrator (DBA) comes in handy though your web host can also offer technical support.

7. Install WordPress
With the database set, you are ready to start by creating a WordPress account. Make sure your password is not easy to guess. You will receive a confirmation email and you can then log into the admin panel.

8. Choose A WordPress Theme
Thousands of themes are available and you should choose the one that denotes your business personality. Consider a great design, strong code, compatibility with WordPress latest version and popular plugins, readability and customization.

9. Start Work On The Website
Basic configurations to improve your website’s performance and maneuverability are necessary. Consider anti-spam content tools, disable comments if you don’t need them and configure permalinks to make URLs friendlier to RSS readers and search engines.

At this stage, enhance your website’s security through upgrades and removing user name admin to avoid vulnerability to hackers.

10. Create Crucial Pages
Make sure you have great content for your home page, about us page, products and contacts section. This will draw more traffic and increase sales conversion.

11. Invest In Search Engine Optimization
To get high ranking, you need to optimize your page for search engines. There are myriad options including generation of XML page, control of no-index and no-follow and link building, among others. As the campaign runs, make sure you use analytics to check traffic to your page using Google Analytics and other tools.

These tools tell you exactly who is coming to your page, duration of stay and pages visited. Such crucial data is important in your SEO campaigns.

12. Data Backup
It is an essential part of website administration, but one that is commonly overlooked. Backup systems protect your business and hence ensure you backup both the database and files. There are myriad backup options, such as BackupBuddy, but the input of a remote DBA is far more efficient and reliable.

13. Enhance Efficiency
W3 Total Cache is renowned for making WordPress pages more efficient through minimizing files and images while also reducing load times by loading static pages. It is a tool you should employ once your website is up and running.

This guide makes it easy to create and own your own website. However, should you get stuck; you are still in luck because there are many website design experts ready to chip in.

 

Maybe WordPress is not for you

 

There is a lot of things to remember when you create a website using WordPress and if you are not technically minded and find creating a website with WordPress a bit confusing then try create your site with Easysite its called Easysite because its easy. You can even try it free.

BIO - Tim Ewer is a database management technology expert with over 10 years in the industry. He is currently a web design expert at BigDropInc.com and expresses his insight on the industry through blogging.


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