Get the Most Out of Your WordPress Website

WordPress has been a preferred platform for building websites. Companies across different industries rely on WordPress for establishing their online presence, and for very good reasons.

To start, it’s seamless and it allows for a wide array of customization. However, there is a bit of a learning curve if you want the platform to boost your online presence. Fortunately, it doesn’t take much to learn advanced skills and strategies for enhancing your WordPress website. Applying the tips below will be a good start:

1. Opt for a memorable domain name

The domain name is the name that appears on the website address. Typically, you can use the name of your brand as the domain name, but there is a good chance that another business could be using the same domain name. You need to check for businesses that carry the same address. If you find one, then you might want to change the domain name without straying far from what your business does.

For example, if you provide plumbing services to homeowners in Buffalo, consider using buffaloplumbers.com as your domain. The trick here is to keep it concise and memorable to your target audience so you can make it easy for them to look you up.

2. Incorporate your branding

As a business owner, you know exactly how important brand-building is to your business. It sets you apart from your competitors and develops visual associations with your business. Everything from your logo to the color scheme helps customers easily identify your business.

Knowing the importance of using your WordPress website for attracting new customers, you need to make sure your customers develop a familiarity with your brand. Apart from adding your logo to the homepage, you will also need to paint your website with your official brand colors.

In addition, your website should also reflect the personality and tone of your brand. If your brand has a serious and professional identity, your website must also look the part. If your brand is targeted towards a younger audience, look for website templates that cater to the latest trends.

3. Find the right web hosting service

You can’t have an online presence without a web hosting service. If you are planning to add a number of features to your website, you need a dedicated server for storing all these files and making sure the website is performing well. This also provides greater security against hackers, viruses, and other online threats.

A web hosting service helps you with all that. It costs money to get one, but getting a good hosting plan can help maximize your returns. You just need to find a reliable hosting provider.

Look for a provider that can give you the amount of file storage your website needs. You should also check if they can provide you with optimal loading speeds. You can always ask for a free trial or look for a website hosting FAQ page that has everything you need to know about getting your site up and running.

4. Install the right plugins

Do you want to add a fill-form to your website? How about a video playlist and animated graphics? When it comes to customizing your website, it’s crucial that you look for plugins that add to the site’s functionality.

If you are not sure which ones to install, consider the overall purpose of your website. For instance, if you want customers to make purchases, use WordPress-compatible e-commerce plugins such as WooCommerce or BigCommerce.

When it comes to security, look towards plugins such as Jetpack and Wordfence. These are ideal for preventing brute force attacks, detecting spam and malware, and reducing downtime.

5. Write great content

Creating content isn’t just about putting words and images together on a single web page. It also has a lot to do with telling a story and educating your visitors. When you are writing blogs or product descriptions, make sure that every word adds value to your business and your customers.

If you have a blog, look for topics that your audience cares about. Do a great deal of research on the questions and problems that people want answers and solutions to. In addition, don’t just write about generic things. Instead, write about specific issues. Make your articles unique by incorporating your own insights.

When you are choosing images for product listings and your business’s “About Us” page, use original high-quality photos instead of stock images downloaded from the web. You can also use graphics and illustrations. Just make sure you strike a proper balance between visual and text content.

For this, make the text readable by writing simple and concise sentences. You will also need to shorten your paragraphs and add pictures to provide visual relief. In addition, use a font that’s easy to read and emphasize important ideas.

6. Make your website visible

You may have an eye-catching website, but how does it perform in the search engine results pages or SERPs? Customers use Google to find the products and services they need. If your website doesn’t appear on the first page of the search results, you lose the opportunity to attract qualified traffic.

To make sure your website gets the attention it deserves, consider ranking for the keywords that your customers are using. For this, take time building a list of the most-searched keywords in your industry.

Once you have completed the list, create content that consists of high-value keywords. Use plugins such as Yoast to help you optimize your website for better readability.

Providing a better user experience and building external links should push your website higher in the search results. Google rewards websites that add value, so make sure you follow valuable suggestions on how to make your website user-friendly.

You can also create backlinks in order to raise your site’s SEO score. For this, consider writing guest posts or publishing blogs on places like Medium.com.

WordPress is a powerful tool that fits any business, but your success with the platform will depend on how well you harness it. Consider the tips above as you build a solid online presence.