For anyone wanting an e-commerce website, WordPress is an excellent tool with which you can start your new business. WordPress is an open-source website-building program that uses PHP. This is one of the easiest ways to create a professionally profitable website or blog.

WordPress may have started out as a simple blogging platform, but it has evolved into a lot more. The features you can add to your site with plugins and widgets are endless. There is no cost to use WordPress. You can install and modify it as you choose and it is quite easy to learn.

Hundreds of different themes offer a wide range of designs that you can choose from for your website. Some themes are free and some require a fee. Although WP is not very difficult to use, there are a few things that a beginner should know in order to make the experience flow more smoothly.

1. WordPress Folder – You do not want to use the WordPress folder when you create your WP site, so it appears in your URL. I’ve seen sites that do this and end up with a URL like mysite.com/WordPress. Install WP in your main directory or use a subdomain.

2. Plugin Overload – Plugins are a wonderful thing. They have everything from changing your font size and color to sharing your posts across your social media accounts. Although they are a great tool to use, be careful not to use too much. I was like a kid at Christmas when I first went to the plugin directory on WordPress.org. I was downloading just about all of them. I’ve since learned to only use the plugins I really need and to make sure they all get along. Sometimes you find plugins that don’t play well together. If you see a problem with your site after installing a new plugin, simply deactivate the plugin and see if that fixes the problem.

3. Posts and Pages – Pages and Posts are different and should be treated as such. A surface is stationary which simply means that it is stationary. The page displays the same to every visitor as the information is embedded in the HTML code. A post is dynamic which means visitors can interact with the content and it can change constantly. Your static pages should be like permanent web pages – about us, privacy policy, i.e. any content you want to keep static.

4. Backup Your Site – If you’ve ever experienced the loss of a website, you know it’s not a pleasant experience. Be sure to back up your WP site regularly to prevent this from happening. Some hosts will provide a 24-hour backup of your site if anything happens but they don’t provide all the extras. So, don’t forget to back up your website regularly. There are services or plugins for this that do this for you as well. You can search the plugin directory on WordPress.org and find hundreds of options.

5. Use Images – Using quality images in your posts and your pages can increase your conversion rate dramatically. The brain processes image much better than text so they do a lot for your products/services. Make sure you are using images legally and always add an alternate text. This will help the search engine spiders “see” the image.

6. Remember Your Footer – unfortunately many people overlook the footer at the bottom of the page. This is where you want to add your copyright and/or commercial information or other relevant information or links. Be sure to keep this up to date as well. Many people will make it a point to check the footer for information and to see if the site is up to date.

7. How to Choose a Theme – Choosing a theme is an important part of building your website so don’t take it lightly. The theme provides the design and layout of your site. Determine the purpose of your business and what you need for your website for your business. Research each topic thoroughly to see if it will provide what you need. Be sure to see if the theme offers support. Try the theme and see if it “fits” with your site and content. Take the necessary time to choose the right topic. If you later find that the theme you’ve chosen doesn’t work, don’t worry, it can be changed easily.

8. Customized Permalinks – Permalinks are the URLs given by WordPress to your posts. The default permalink can be ugly or too long, depending on the title of your post. You can change the structure of permalinks by going to Settings > Permalinks. You can choose one of the options they have or you can customize your link.

9. Automatic Social Sharing – Social media should be an integral part of your website. There are many options for social sharing plugins, so every time you post, it will be shared with your social media followers. There are also plugins that will allow your visitors to easily share your content on their social pages. Be sure to use these plugins to your advantage.

10. Update WordPress and Plugins – WordPress and its associated plugins are constantly being changed and modified. You need to keep up with these updates and always check to see if an update is available. If you are not up to date your site may be more likely to be hacked. It can also cause problems with the interaction between old and new plugins and features. Updating is as easy as a click of the mouse. Check the Updates button available next to your plugins or at the top of your admin dashboard.

WordPress, to me, is the best thing to come with Chocolatey, so if you haven’t considered using WP yet, check it out and see all the possibilities it can offer for your website. . There is a ton of information available so take the time to research WP and see what it can do for you and your business.

SEO Tips For WordPress for Users

Here are SEO Tips for WordPress Beginners

Use a Quality Theme: The first thing every blogger wants to do is find a good theme for their blog. However, most beginners don’t have a lot of money to invest in a premium theme. Free WordPress themes can be found all over the internet, but you have to be careful which one you choose. Many of those fancy, designer themes will appeal to your readers. Still, search engines have a hard time reading your content. A good theme to start with is Twenty Eleven, a free theme you can find through your WordPress dashboard.

Install All-in-One-SEO Plugin: This is a free WordPress plugin that you can download through your dashboard. You can then set your own meta tags, title, and description for each post, making it easier for search engines to see what your blog is about. After installing All-in-One you need to create your homepage title by going to the Settings tab, adding a description of your blog, and listing some relevant keywords. Don’t forget to click ‘Submit’ when finished.

Do Keyword Research: Before you start setting up your blog, keyword research is essential. You have to identify your niche and then use a keyword-rich domain name. You will also need to use keywords in all areas of your blog: post titles, category titles, in your blog posts and articles, in your navigation, and anchor text. Every aspect of your blog will be focused on keywords and without them, you are lost.

Configure Permalinks: Permalinks determine the structure of your URLs and are the URLs that search engines read to determine the content of your blog. With WordPress, the default setting shows a lot of information that search engines don’t need, and this confuses them. Go to the settings page for the permalink and click the radio button for Custom Structure and then enter /%postname%/ in the spacer box. This setting makes it easier for search engines to read your content, and you will rank better for your keywords.

Alt Tags: Search engines can only ‘read’ the text on your blog – they can’t ‘see’ the images, so you have to use the alt tag to identify them. Every time you upload an image to your WordPress blog you will see a field where you can enter ‘alternative text’. Use keywords to identify your images for search engines.

If you want to make money online from your blog then learning search engine optimization techniques is the most important thing you can do. These are some of the steps you can take to SEO your WordPress blog but for beginners, they are a good place to start.