WordPress is easy to start building your website but with added elements comes complexity. One of the best things about WordPress is that thousands of developers contribute to the site every day. Your ideas can be mapped here and that too with less of a hassle. The most important factor for you is to know where to look and apply tips that will make your site results improve. These might be simple twitches to few additions but once you are done a better site awaits for you.
With time and experience, one can translate the efforts into knowledge. Wildstone WordPress experts have provided these tips with over a decade-long experience in web design, SEO, and Digital Marketing. Here are some simple and effective tips that anyone can apply to their WordPress sites.
1. For faster load times, automatically compress your images
Choosing a fast WordPress hosting service is important for a large website. But you can do your part as well for faster load times. Image compression to the optimal level is just that. We suggest you use either one of the WP Image, Smush, or Shortpixel Image optimizer plugins for best results.
2. Integrate your contact form to Email Marketing Software
Your forms are the most straightforward way of connecting with clients. A proper email marketing software can function as an auto-responder as well as a complete email manager. Most premium plugins add tons of additional features to that but you can start benefitting from the regular ones too. We suggest you use the Everest Forms plugin connected with ConverKit for smooth operation.
3. Cut off several plugins by using Google Tag Manager
Once you have delved into WordPress plugins, you can find yourself installing a bunch of them. Over a period there might be more than your site can handle and even decline your website performance. Try using Google Tag Manager that has the functionality of several plugins all in one place. If you are skeptical about making that switch, keep a backup of your plugin. Revert and improve your hosting services if you are not comfortable with Google Tag Manager.
4. Use the reusable blocks (>WordPress 5.0 versions)
Gutenberg is one of the most commonly used WordPress block editors included in WordPress 5.0 and above. Even with a robust theme, you can’t always have a consistent page design as you like. With reusable blocks, you can simply create a shortcut block which you can use again in creating a new page. It saves you time, hassle, and money with a simple application.
5. Add Sticky Sidebar Widget for easier navigation
Sticky sidebars allow the users to navigate your websites easily from different parts of the page. Recently, different popular sites have been using it to prevent bounce rates and even increase the stay time of users to their website. For long pages and immediate CTA reactions, Sticky sidebars can be game-changers. You can try experimenting with the Q2W3 fixed widget for this purpose.
6. Use SEO plugins to Bulk Edit descriptions and titles
Both titles ad Meta descriptions do a lot portion of the job representing your site or content. Some simple SEO plugins allow you to bulk edit these which saves you a lot of time and hassle. We suggest you use the premium version of Yoast SEO.
7. Use a Redirect Plugin
A redirect plugin makes your URL easy to remember and share in different mediums. Sometimes a long link can make the viewing experience of users problematic. It shortens the URL or allows you to change certain parts of it. We suggest you use the Short Links plugins for redirecting.
8. Create a custom 404 Pages
Nothing is more bothersome for a user than to find a broken link to the page you have just opened. The general 404 pages might not reflect the brand or thematic properly. A custom page might carry the message subtly too. We suggest you use the 404Page Plugin to create your custom page.
9. Use WordPress Maintenance Services
Investing in WordPress Maintenance service is key to keep your website in tip-top shape. You can solve problems from hosting issues to outages and even coding failures through it with few clicks. With different plans available to you, select the plan that fits your site best and relax.
WordPress is ever-evolving to better web experiences for the users. With hundreds of exciting plugins and themes being introduced every month you shouldn’t be left out of the major perks of WordPress. Leave a comment below for similar tips and questions on Websites and more.