How To Login To WordPress
To get into the backend of your WordPress site you are going to want to get to your WordPress login screen. It will be your domain name followed by “wp-admin.” If your domain is xyz.com then you will go to xyz.com/wp-admin. Here you will put your username and password.
Recommendation: Setup your username to be something different than “admin.” This will help protect you against hackers logging into your WordPress backoffice. “Admin” is the default username and you can change this when you initially setup your website.
The password will be the same as your database password. After your initial setup this would have been emailed to you but if you for some reason misplaced it … it will initially be set as your WordPress database password. You have the option of resetting this via a password reset which follows the standard procedure of requesting a reset, then going to your email to follow the reset procedure.
Basic Settings Of WordPress Backoffice
WordPress Initial Installed Plugins
A WordPress plugin is a piece of software containing a group of functions that can be added to a WordPress website. They can extend functionality or add new features to your WordPress websites. WordPress plugins are written in the PHP programming language and integrate seamlessly with WordPress. Although plugins are very valuable and improve the functionality of your website an overload of plugins will slow down your site and hurt your SEO value. Below are some of my recommendations.
- Jetpack – This is optional and it is really a matter of preference. I personally have not used Jetpack but upon doing some research I can see it’s potential benefits. I personally just would not want to load down the number of plugins used and Jetpack just may do this. Again, I have not used Jetpack so if you as a reader have first hand experience in this please comment below.
- Akismet Anti-Spam – Akismet is a no brainer plugin that I highly recommend and would even go to say this is mandatory. Akismet is quite possibly the best way to protect your blog from spam 24/7. Akismet is free and requires a minimal setup including an API code. Just follow the steps to have this setup.
- Hello Dolly – Delete this plugin.
- Google Analytics for WordPress by MonsterInsights – I recommend that we can utilize Google Analytics directly and do not require a plugin to manage this. Delete this plugin.
- MOJO Marketplace – I have not used before so at this point I will just deactivate it.
- All In One SEO Pack – I recommend this plugin as it is very helpful with SEO. Another plugin is Yoast which is extremely popular. I have used both but ran into a problem with Yoast as is has conflicted with some of my other plugins. It is a matter of preference but for sure just pick one and stick with it. See how to install from the video above.
Do you just deactivate or delete unused plugins? Inactive plugins can be harmless, but they are still executable files. In case of an hacking attempt, these files can get infected or can be used to install malware on your site. As a WordPress security precaution, you should delete any inactive plugins that you do not intend to use. Inactive plugins are said to not slow down your site but my recommendation is get rid of it, if you are never going to use it.
Setting Up WordPress Permalinks
The URLs of the content you publish on your WordPress website are known as WordPress permalinks. Permalinks are what people enter into their browser address bar to view one of your pages. They are also what search engines and other websites use to link to your website. Permalinks are extremely important for SEO. I recommend the following. From the left Dashboard menu look for Settings … Permalinks. I recommend a custom structure and using /%postname%/. This is detailed in the video above.
WordPress System Timezone1
I have this shown in a different video but initially this is good to setup immediately upon first login to the site. Look for Settings … General … Timezone. There are a number of options and since I am on Eastern time, I selected Detroit. Just select the appropriate timezone you are in.
Footnotes:
[1] Time Zone And Its Importance by HemantA