Mistakes are a normal part of life. While that’s true, an error on your WordPress (WP) website can cause a loss of traffic or sales that can hurt your small business.Don’t let easily avoided mistakes hamper the success of your website.
We asked WordPress experts what the biggest mistakes that small business websites can make. Read on to learn the four errors to avoid on your website, including:
- Ignoring security concerns
- Not taking advantage of WordPress features
- Having too many plugins
- Not optimizing website speed
1. Ignoring Security
Security is an area that businesses know they should prioritize, but it often gets treated as a back burner task. Don’t make that mistake at your company.
President of Ripen Digital, James Bowen, says he sees too many small business websites with a lack of security or recovery plans.“[There are] simple tactics like changing your login URL from the standard (and easy to find) /wp-admin/, not using ‘admin’ as a username, maintaining daily backups, and using security plugins like Wordfence or Sucuri to protect from brute force attacks and malware.
“My favorite recommendation? Requiring all site administrations to use two-factor authentication. These are all easy to implement steps that can go a long way in protecting a [business’s] assets.”
2. Not Taking Advantage of WordPress Features
WordPress is consistently working to improve its software. That means frequent updates and features to make it a better tool for your website.One of the best habits you can adopt is staying on top of WordPress updates, says Reda Elmardi, CEO at Strong Chap.
“WordPress, plugins, and themes get regular updates, adding new features but also advancing security. Ignoring these leaves your website exposed to hackers. I’m sure I don’t need to tell you why that’s a bad thing. What you can do is to always update WordPress plugins, core, and themes whenever they become available.”
Moreover, WordPress has many built-in features that can help your website. Founder of Solution Scout, Blake Bobit, recommends familiarizing yourself with the tools that WordPress offers before installing extras.
“There’s much to do with page and title tags, keyword structures, content optimizations, design templates, etc., within your core WP. Make sure to investigate it in its entirety before crashing down your website with overhauling. […]
“Many people are using very few functionalities for their online visibility. Many (if not all) are
already included in the WP itself.”
Bobit advises that too many plugins can affect your website function and speed. That brings up the next point.
3. Poor Plugin Management
Plugins are useful for increasing a website’s success or solving specific problems. But too many plugins or outdated plugins can end up introducing issues to your WordPress website. Jessica Gatliff, webmaster of Think Impact, says the biggest mistake she sees on websites is installing too many plugins.
“This is bad practice because there is always a chance for these plugins to break, get hacked, or be discontinued. In addition to all this, plugins can decrease the speed of your website, which might impact your search engine rankings.”
Choose the essential plugins for your website’s needs and keep them up to date.
4. Having a Slow Loading Website
Slow websites increase bounce rate. Search engine optimization (SEO) Specialist at New Silver Lending LLC, Richard Stevens, mentions that conversion rates drop with loading times and that Google takes website speed into account in its organic rankings.
“In other words, improving your site speed can improve your conversion rate and increase organic traffic through search engines.”
Take a look at your website and try to find any way that you could be negatively impacting your website’s speed, including:
- Large photos
- Too many plugins
- Bloated themes
- Not using tools like Google PageSpeed Insights
Another factor contributing to slow load times is a poor hosting provider, says Aaron Haynes, CEO of Loganix.
“WP is an intensive website platform, and it requires a powerful hosting solution to perform fast and efficiently. Slow WordPress websites are everywhere, and you don’t want to be in that group for a multitude of reasons.”
Choose a high-quality hosting provider like Bluehost to make your WordPress website faster. Also, improve the fundamentals on your website to fully enhance its performance.
Final Thoughts
When you’re creating your WordPress website, take extra care to avoid fixable mistakes that could hurt your business.
Make sure to prioritize security, use all of WordPress’s tools, manage your plugin use, and improve your website speed with best practices. By following our experts’ advice, you can ensure your website is fast and secure for your customers.
Do you want to improve your WordPress website? Upgrade to Eastlinkcloud hosting package today.
Eastlink Cloud Pvt. Ltd.
Tripureshwor, Kathmandu, Nepal
Phone:166001-95985
Mail:info@eastlinkcloud.com
