Ricky's top ten things not to do with your WordPress site. Follow these tips to correct any mistakes that you may be making.
Ricky Blacker's talk at WordPress Sydney April 2019 meetup group.
5. CONFIDENTIAL5
What To Expect
● Beginner focussed
● I will explain some basic functionality and tips
that often get overlooked or forgotten
● Will give some best practices
● Try not to be too boring
8. CONFIDENTIAL8
Don’t Use “admin” As Your Username
⁃ Don’t use your domain name either
⁃ Use 2FA if possible
⁃ Make sure to limit login attempts
⁃ Always create a new user for anyone who needs
access to your site
⁃ Only give users a role with access to what they
need
⁃ Change your publicly displayed name
11. CONFIDENTIAL11
Don’t Use Weird Permalinks
The default permalink structure is not user-friendly
http://www.yourwebsite.com/big-news-story/
is better than
http://www.yourwebsite.com/?page_id=54367.
18. CONFIDENTIAL18
Don’t Alter “Parent” Theme Files
● Changes made to parent files will be overwritten when updates occur
● Use a Child Theme
● There are plugins to help you do this - One-Click Child Theme is one
https://wordpress.org/plugins/one-click-child-theme/
¯_(ツ)_/¯
20. CONFIDENTIAL20
Don’t Forget To Back Up Regularly
● Do not attempt an update without a recent backup
● Do not make major changes to your site without a backup
● Test your backup method before disaster strikes
22. CONFIDENTIAL22
Don’t Load Images Bigger Than Needed
● Try to get the image size right before uploading to WordPress
● 1920px is considered maximum width for web
● Don’t use PNG files unless a transparent background is needed
● Consider a lazy load plugin if you have a lot of images
● Use a program like IrfanView to edit images - www.irfanview.com
24. CONFIDENTIAL24
Don’t Add Site Functionality From
Themes
● Try to use plugins rather than the theme to add functionality wherever
possible, this will help to separate design from function
● This will make it easier to “break up” with your theme
26. CONFIDENTIAL26
Don’t Forget To Add A Favicon
● This is sometimes overlooked
● Very easy to add with WordPress
● Makes your site look more polished
● There a lot of favicon generators you can use
● www.favicon-generator.org
28. CONFIDENTIAL28
Don’t Use An Image To Display
Important Text
● Search Engines can not read an image
● Always use text whenever possible
● Make sure you label images appropriately if using images for text is
unavoidable
29. CONFIDENTIAL29
Don’t Use An Image To Display
Important Text
● Search Engines can not read an image
● Always use text whenever possible
● Make sure you label images appropriately if using images for text is
unavoidable