WordPress for Blogging: Benefits of Self-Hosting

WordPress for Blogging:Benefits of Self-Hosting

with Michelle Ames

MarketedByMichelle.com

So you want a piece of the Internet…

Originally a blogging medium, WordPress now offers a

great platform for creating almost any kind of website –

from blogs to brochure sites to e-commerce.

WordPress is used by 60.6% of all the websites whose

content management system we know. This is 23.3% of all

websites.


You’re in good company

According to the WordPress showcase page, WP powers some major players, including:

Groupe Renault

Vogue.com

Smithsonian Institution’s National Museum of African Art

Democraticleader.gov (Nancy Pelosi’s site)

Tribune Media

The New Yorker

Time.com

mercedes-benz.com

Rush

open.nasa.gov

Ariana Grande

Kylie Minogue

Lily Allen

NY Post

Thrive Magazine

Fortune

Beyonce

Dallas Mavericks

Wil Wheaton

Sweden’s official site

Georgia State University

Justin Bieber


Basic Installation

Where to get started

Choose a theme. Upload it.

Free vs. Premium

Updates

Less recognizable

Documentation (usually)

Support and forums

Get rid of footer links

Often easily customized

Customize it.

Logo, colors, background images.

Tip/HackChanging your theme won’t delete your content (media,

posts, and pages) but most likely WILL delete any

customization – so if you revert back to an older theme you

will have to re-enter customizations.


Basic Installation

Where to get started

Choose your plugins and upload them.

Some of my “must haves” include:

Security (BruteProtect, WordFence)

Spam Control (Disable Comments)

Widget Solutions (Jetpack)

Backup (Backup Buddy, WPClone)

Forms (Gravity Forms, Jotform)

Calendar (Timely)

SEO (Yoast)

Post Expirator

Shopping Cart

(woo commerce, Ecwid, shopify)

Tip/HackLogged into your wordpress.org account? Favorite the

plugins you use frequently for easy uploading from the

repository.


Basic Installation

Posts

Where posts appear on the site is theme-dependent

Categories vs. Tags

Scheduling

Expiration (plugin required)

Featured Image

Tip/HackIf you are using a slider, make sure your featured image

matches the slider dimensions.


Basic Installation

Media

Photos

Graphics

Pdf files

Etc.

Keep in mind the file size you are uploading. Larger files will also

take a longer time to display.

Tip/HackDon’t want any media to link to the file?

Put this in your functions.php file.

update_option('image_default_link_type','none');


Basic Installation

Pages – the “meat” of your site.

Choose your template (different with every theme)

Choose a “parent” for hierarchy

Set featured image – if desired

Use headings for both reading and SEO purposes

Use “save draft” to continue working without publishing the page –

or losing edits. Click “view page” to see work in progress

Tip/HackUsing the “Visual” vs. “Text” views will allow you to access

and edit different aspects of the page.


Basic Installation

Comments

Use a spam filter if you invite comments.

Tip/HackYou can “layer” your spam filters for added effect. I often

install Antispam Bee and Bad Behavior on blogging sites to

control spam.


Appearance

Themes

Delete anything you are not using or will not use.

Customize will have different options based on the theme.

Background may or may not display as you intend – based

on the theme.

Tip/HackNever edit theme files directly! Use a child theme or CSS

editor (like the one included with Jetpack) to make CSS

edits.


Appearance

Widgets

Widgets area also varies based on themes, but most have

similar functions. Variations may include WHERE widgets can

be placed (i.e. footer, sidebar, header, etc.)

Standard widgets include text boxes, meta functions,

calendar of posts, categories, menus, etc.

Plugins can often provide additional widget options like

Facebook “like” boxes, Twitter feeds, and even industry-

specific options like real estate MLS lookups.

Tip/HackThe Text Widget allows you to use basic HTML language to

add content, links, graphics, etc. This can really come in

handy!


Appearance

Menus

Menus are much more versatile than you may think!

Establish link hierarchy through dropdowns

Add links to outside pages in your menu

Customize labels – change the menu name without changing

the target page or link name

Add blog categories as their own menu items

Tip/HackWant a menu link to open in a new tab? Click the “Screen

Options” tab at the top of the menu dashboard and check

“link target.” Now when you edit a menu item you can

check “open in new window/tab.”


Users

User Roles

Administrator – somebody who has access to all the administration

features within a single site.

Editor – somebody who can publish and manage posts including the

posts of other users.

Author – somebody who can publish and manage their own posts.

Contributor – somebody who can write and manage their own posts

but cannot publish them.

Subscriber – somebody who can only manage their profile.

Tip/HackBe very cautious about assigning administrator rights to

anyone. They will have access to make ANY changes on your

site.


Settings

What to Change

General Settings

Site Title

Tagline

Timezone

Date Format

Week Starts On

Tip/HackBe careful not to change your WP or Site addresses unless

you are confident of what you are doing. You can make your

site “disappear.” You have to know how to navigate the

Cpanel well to fix it.


Settings

What to Change

Permalinks

Permalinks will default to unfriendly URL page names (like

sitename.com/?p=123)

Instead click the “Post Name” setting to have your page names

appear in the URL bar. (like www.sitename.com/pagename)

Tip/HackUsing Post Names as the URL page name also assists with

SEO!


Must-Haves

Favicon

A favicon is that tiny 16x16 pixel image that displays in the

tab of your browser page and is unique to your site. Without

one all you will see is this.

To create a great favicon, go to favicon.cc and upload and

edit the image.

Some themes let you upload a file directly.

You may need to FTP the file

to your theme’s image folder.Tip/HackA favicon is the cherry on your website sundae! It’s good for

branding, too!


Must-Haves

Social Media Link Buttons

Social Share Buttons (via plugin like Simple Share Buttons)

Footer – get rid of “proudly powered by WordPress” and

add © and designer.

If your want to drive phone traffic, display the phone

number in the header.

If your business or client’s business wants walk-in traffic,

add a map to the contact/location page.

Tip/HackSocial sharing allows site visitors to share pages and posts to

their social media pages.


Additional Info that Didn’t Fit Anywhere

Else Favorite Sites

http://builtwith.com/

http://www.getip.com/

http://whatwpthemeisthat.com/

http://codex.wordpress.org/

http://www.w3schools.com/

http://theoatmeal.com/static/design_hell.html

Use the forums: themes, plugins, WordPress – there’s a wealth of knowledge from thosewho have “been there, donethat!”

Tip/HackUse the Facebook Group forum for help on all kinds of WP

questions and “problems.”


http://builtwith.com/

http://www.getip.com/

http://whatwpthemeisthat.com/

http://codex.wordpress.org/

http://www.w3schools.com/

http://theoatmeal.com/static/design_hell.html

Contact Me

I’m a “pay it forward” WordPresser who has been helped

along by others. If I can help you, I will!

Michelle Ames, Marketing Diva at Marketed by Michelle, LLC

585-749-5059

[email protected]

Note: if you are a WordPress junkie, like me, we have a monthly meet-up.

Ask me for details!

Thank You!I hope this was helpful and useful to you!


mailto:[email protected]