The Top 7 Wordpress Mistakes
Most Developers Make
...and How to Fix Them
Before Disaster Strikes

The 7 Top Wordpress Mistakes by Developers

2022 Edition

Wordpress Mistakes

When using WordPress to create a website, Wordpress developers need to be aware of the risks that are involved. Since WordPress has evolved from a blogging platform to a full website development tool, it can result in low quality sites, bug laden plugins, and security flaws. Due to this, developers must be aware of the common errors that are made while creating a site through WordPress. Here are the top 7 WordPress mistakes developers make:

  1. Using the Default Permalink Structure

    When choosing a permalink structure on Wordpress, you are given six options. The first common mistake that developers make is to choose the default permalink structure, which is referred to as Plain. The default permalink structure simply informs WordPress where the content can be located in your database. Although it is the shortest permalink structure, the default option is actually the least user-friendly and will fail to rank highly on search engines. Since Search Engine Optimization is all about keywords, incorporating a keyword into a permalink structure will have higher SEO results. To exemplify, including the title of an article featured on your page in its URL will allow visitors to gain insight into the topic when its listed on Google, consequently increasing their chances of clicking on your link. Therefore, using the simple default permalink structure actually hinders your ability to rank highly on search engines, which is why it is the first most common WordPress mistake.

  2. Choosing the Wrong Wordpress Host

    Selecting the wrong WordPress host can damage your website tremendously. Although it is tempting to choose a cheap host, it is in your site's best interest to invest in a fully managed platform. If your website takes too long to load, visitors will leave your page for another one instantly. Furthermore, the key is to choose a host that has a high level of security and exceptional customer service. By investing in such a platform, you can guarantee that your content is safe and that a representative is available at all times in case any issues arise. At the end of the day, choosing the wrong host platform can be a significant downfall for your website, which is why it is considered to be one of the top WordPress mistakes.

  3. Installing Too Many Plugins (and never removing them)

    Adding plugins to your website is essential to making your page both functional and captivating. However, installing too many plugins and then failing to remove them once you no longer need them is a huge mistake developers make on WordPress. The most popular mistake made with plugins is failing to replace a plugin that slows down the speed of your site. Usually if a plugin is serving a specific purpose on your site, there is bound to be another one just like it that you can replace it with. Therefore, if it is slowing down your site, then you can disable it and install a plugin that fulfills the same function but loads faster. Similarly, if your plugins are no longer compatible with a new WordPress upgrade, you can switch them out for more efficient ones. Another mistake is installing an unnecessary amount of plugins to your website. Since adding plugins to your site also adds code, the browser will take longer to load. Consequently, the overall rule is the less plugins you incorporate, the better.

  4. Installing SEO Plugins without Understanding SEO

    Adding SEO plugins, such as Yoast, to your WordPress site is a smart idea, unless you do not understand SEO. Installing SEO plugins can help increase your site's visibility on Google, engage visitors from your social media pages, and make your site more captivating. It's true that SEO plugins will advise you whether or not you are using your keywords enough to rank highly on search engines. Yoast will even take into account all of the synonyms of your keywords. However, no SEO plugin will identify your keywords for you.. they only test them. This is why you need an understanding of SEO. Even with Yoast installed in WordPress, you still need to identify which keywords apply to your website. With the help of certain online tools, you can analyze these keywords and then test them on your SEO plugins. Overall, these SEO plugins can be helpful when installed into WordPress, but don't make the mistake of using them without understanding SEO first.

  5. Forgetting to Enable Search Engine Visibility

    WordPress automatically blocks search engines from indexing your site for several reasons. One reason why this is an automatic setting is because most developers do not want their under-construction sites to be listed on Google until they are completely finished. To add, WordPress is used frequently for private blogs that are not meant to show up on a search engine. WordPress' automatic setting has great intentions behind it, but can actually cripple a website if the developer forgets to turn it off. If your site is not a private blog, forgetting to enable Search Engine Visibility can be an extremely costly mistake. Failing to turn off that automatic setting will prevent your site from showing up on Google at all, which will impair your online visibility and Search Engine Optimization as a whole.

  6. Not Backing Up your Website Daily

    Failing to backup your website daily can prove to be a detrimental mistake in case your site gets hacked or accidentally deleted. Regardless of whether you backup your site manually or via a plugin, such as Updraft in Wordpress, you need to ensure that your website is backed up properly. If not done properly, your site can suffer tremendously from the consequence of having to build it up again, from the ground up.

  7. Ignoring Wordpress and Plugin Updates

    Whenever WordPress has a new update, you must embrace it. Not only will you gain access to new features, but you will also update your site's security. Whenever WordPress releases a new update, it is to fix any vulnerable aspects of the site. To explain further, if someone discovers how to hack into a WordPress site, WordPress management will identify the issue and solve it by releasing a new update that prevents hackers from accessing sites that way. By ignoring updates, your website will still be one of the old versions of WordPress and hackers will be able to access it.

Getting Wordpress Right!

All in all, if you utilize WordPress to create your website, you must be cautious of the most common mistakes developers make. Here at worldwideRiches, we do create, maintain, support and host websites that use the WordPress platform at the request of a client. However, we always ensure that each client understands WordPress' vulnerabilities and limitations, along with the errors that can arise. If you consider utilizing WordPress for your website, make sure you avoid these mistakes so that your site turns out the best it can be.

Another Option

If you decide the Wordpress platform is right for your project (or not), we have the experience and expertise to help you navigate the decision and implementation processes. We also have taken the lessons learned from fixing Wordpress websites and created a unique Wordpress Hosting platform that greatly reduces risk, issues and frustration by providing state of the art security features, automatic plugin updates (reduces hacking vulnerabilities), backup and restore tools, access to Wordpress experts, US based Wordpress and web hosting support and more.

Give us call at 908-709-1601 or email us and receive a FREE CONSULTATION from one of our Wordpress experts.

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Author Rich Stivala has been designing, building and fixing Wordpress web sites, as well as creating search engine optimization strategies for over 25 years.