WordPress Setup For Complete Newbies

Initial WordPress setup

1. Go to your WordPress dashboard (your-website(dot)com/wp-admin/)
2. Click on "Settings" and then "Permalinks". Normally, it's set to "Day and Name". Choose "Post Name"
3. Scroll down and hit "Save Changes".

Getting a Fixed Homepage

1. In the dashboard click on "Pages" and then "Add New".
2. Give it a title like "Home" or "Start" and press "Publish"
3. Go to your WordPress dashboard
4. In hte dashboard click on "Settings" and then "Reading".
5. Under your homepage displays pick "A static page". In the Homepage: Dropdown choose your newly created page.
6. Scroll down and hit "Save Changes".

Adding Yoast SEO Tool

1. In the dashboard, click "Plugins" then “Add New”.
2. Type in "Yoast SEO" and search.
3. Hit "Install" and after that, "Activate".
4. An "SEO" button should now show up in your dashboard side menu

When you write or edit a post:

1. The "SEO" tab lets you choose the title, URL part, and a little description that people will see in search results.
2. The "Social" tab helps you pick how your post looks when shared on Facebook.
3. The "Advanced" tab has more settings. As a complete newbie you won't need to touch these.

Let's add som backup functionality

1. Go to "Plugins" then "Add New".
2. Search “UpdraftPlus WordPress Backup & Migration Plugin” and "Install" and "Activate".
3. Now, under “Settings”, find "UpdraftPlus Backups”.
4. Click "Settings" and Choose when to backup your files and database.
5. Decide how many backups to keep.
6. Pick a cloud service to save backups (I like using Google Drive).
7. Connect with Google Drive:
8. Click "Google Drive" and "Save Changes".
9. Authorize Updraft to use your Drive account.

If you need to create a manual backup
Start the Backup:

1. Go to "Settings" > "UpdraftPlus Backups".
2. Click "Backup Now" twice.
3. Wait for the progress bar to complete.

Download the Backup:

1. Scroll down to "Existing Backups".
2. Download each part to your computer.

Restoring from a Backup (Large backups on limited servers can be tricky. get help from your hosting provider.)

Start the Restore:

1. Go to "Settings" > "UpdraftPlus Backups".
2. Scroll to "Existing Backups", choose one, click "Restore".
3. Pick what components to restore.
4. Let the process complete.

Remember, if you can't access WordPress, you'll need to reinstall it, get Updraft again, then restore.

What is a website without analytics? Hmm what is a driver without vision?

Google Tag Manager

1. Grab the free Google Tag Assistant for Chrome.
2. Get a Google Tag Manager account. It’s free.
   1. Log into your Google account.
   2. If it's your first time, you'll make a new Tag Manager account. Fill in your details.
   3. Hit “Create”, agree to their terms, and skip the code they show - we won't use it.
   4. Save your Google Tag Manager ID. It's important!
3. Go to your WordPress dashboard.
4. On the side, hit Plugins > Add New.
5. Search for “Google Tag Manager for WordPress” and "install" and "activate" the GTM4WP plugin.
6. Now, go to Settings > Google Tag Manager and put in your Google Tag Manager ID.
7. Container code ON/OFF = On
8. Container code compatibility mode = Off (no tweak, right placement)

Check if it's working

1. Open your website on Chrome.
2. Click the Google Tag Assistant.
3. Hit “Enable” and then refresh.
4. If you see a green tag for Google Tag Manager, you did it!

Set up Google Analytics

1. Visit Google Analytics.
2. Click "Get started"
3. Click on "Start measuring".
4. Enter an account name. This could be your brand, company or project name.
5. Deselect all check boxes hit "Next"
6. Enter the name of your website or app. This is termed as your "property".
7. Ensure the time zone and currency reflect website's specifics.
8. Business Details: Whatever you want
9. Intended Use: Check the 4 first ones hit create
10. Accept terms
11. Choose Webb
12. Input your website URL and give this specific data stream a recognizable name.
13. Save your measurment ID! Its important

Now set up GA4 in Google Tag Manager

1. Go to Google Tag Manager and sign in.
2. Pick the right container.
3. Access "Tags" and hit "New".
4. Name your tag. Example, "GA_TrackingCode".
5. Click "Tag Configuration" and opt for "Google Analytics 4 configuration".
6. Input the Measurement ID you copied earlier.
7. To designate a trigger, tap the Trigger icon and select "All Pages" so the Google Analytics 4 fires across your entire site.
8. Save your configurations.
9. In the Google Tag Manager dashboard, press "Submit". During the submission describe this version if you want.
10. You'll then be shown a recap of your changes.

Check that it's working

1. Visit your website's main page.
2. Activate the Tag Assistant icon in your browser.
3. See if you can see your measuring ID. It might take a couple of minutes before it becomes visable.
4. Cross-check this on multiple website pages to ensure consistent visibility.

Double check your Setup in Google Analytics

1. Access Google Analytics.
2. Navigate to the real-time report through Report > Real-time.
3. In a separate browser tab/window, open your website's URL.
4. Returning to the Google Analytics tab after a short pause should reveal at least 1 active website user.

This is the way I've been doing it for my clients.

Number 1 rule is to create really difficult password and install a plugin for protection from brute force

rettu said:

Number 1 rule is to create really difficult password and install a plugin for protection from brute force

Click to expand...

What do you define as a really difficult password and which plugin do you use for brute force protection?

cdg said:

What do you define as a really difficult password and which plugin do you use for brute force protection?

Click to expand...

Password something like this U6g7(p^a7K
As for plugins I only used Ithemes security and Wordfence. Maybe there are other plugins

cdg said:

What do you define as a really difficult password and which plugin do you use for brute force protection?

Click to expand...

A password like " r#1MI%wZZL3MO6Sgep7Yh " combined with the free plugin FluentAuth with 2FA or magiclinks log-in will do the trick.

It looks reasonably complete, think you are missing out when you don't use a caching plugin. Even if the server is optimized it could still benefit.

tearzkiller said:

It looks reasonably complete, think you are missing out when you don't use a caching plugin. Even if the server is optimized it could still benefit.

Click to expand...

You are absolutely correct! I should have added that. What is your preferred cache plugin?

cdg said:

You are absolutely correct! I should have added that. What is your preferred cache plugin?

Click to expand...

It depends on if it's WooCommerce or normal WP. Lots of disadvantages to compare.

Setting Up W3 Total Cache on WordPress

Initial Setup:

1. Access your WordPress Admin Panel via your browser.
2. Navigate to "Plugins" > "Add New" in the sidebar.
3. Utilize the search bar to type "W3 Total Cache".
4. Click "Install Now" for "W3 Total Cache" > Follow with "Activate".

Performance Check:

1. In the sidebar, tap "Performance" > "Dashboard".
2. Choose the "Compatibility check" option at the top.
3. Review the list for any incompatibilities regarding the "enhanced page and browser cache".

Note: If there's an incompatibility with the enhanced page cache, get in touch with your web hosting provider for potential solutions.

Adjust General Settings:

1. Navigate to "General Settings" from the sidebar.
2. Configure the below settings:
   1. Page Cache: Enable.
   2. Page Cache Method: Preferably, select "Disk: Enhanced". (If you identified any server incompatibilities earlier and your host couldn’t address them, opt for “Disk: Basic”.)
   3. Minify: Activate and choose “I understand the risks”. This feature is beneficial for most sites, but it might disrupt some. If you already utilize another minification plugin or service, refrain from activating this feature.
   4. Database Cache: Enable.
3. Confirm by clicking “Save Settings and Purge Caches”.

Final Checks:

Visit your website and browse key pages to ensure consistent functionality.

Cache Management:

Any modifications (like editing a page) could requirer you to purg the cache. This ensures the updated content is displayed.
To do this, hover over the “Performance” icon in the WordPress Admin header and tap “Purge All Caches” for a complete refresh.

Setting Up ShortPixel Image Optimizer on WordPress

Installation:

1. Launch your browser and access your WordPress Admin Panel.
2. Go to "Plugins" > "Add New" in the sidebar.
3. In the search bar, enter "ShortPixel".
4. Choose "Install Now" followed by "Activate".

Configuration:

1. Hover over "Settings" in the sidebar and select "ShortPixel".
2. If prompted for an API key or to request one:
3. For newcomers without an API key: Input your email, agree to the TOS and the PP, and click “Request Key”.
4. Once validated, you'll be taken to the Plugin Settings page.

Optimization Settings:

1. Choose your desired compression setting.
2. If uncertain, opt for "Lossy". It ensures optimal results while maintaining image quality.
3. Click "Save and Go to Bulk Process".
4. Select "Start Optimizing".

Optimization Process:

Keep the tab open as the plugin works its magic. The optimization time depends on the quantity of images. Once done, your content will be quicker to load due to optimized images.

I would also add maybe setting up an SSL certificate to that guide. But great guide!

Great guide. Thanks for the info!