Blogging with WordPress isn’t as simplistic as it may appear. If you have never used WordPress before, you are sure to find this advice helpful. Remember that when you learn a ton about WordPress, you have a better chance of having a successful blog. The following article contains some great advice for getting the most out of WordPress.

Choose a unique design to make your site stand out from the competition. It saves time, but doesn’t make a great impression on others. You want to show how your site is different from everyone else.

Put in some time to get to know all of WordPress’ bells and whistles. For example, “KITCHEN SINK” gives you more format options on posts. Your admin pages will also have a “SCREEN OPTIONS” tab. Use this for many formatting options.

Utilize Alt and Title. text when you are uploading images in your posts. These can help you add more SEO descriptions to pages, which lets those viewers that don’t wish to see images know what the images are.

You may change your blog and update it, but then notice nothing has been saved. That’s most likely false. You might be able to solve the problem by clearing out your browser cache. Try pressing and holding “shift” while refreshing to view your changes.

Unless you change it, posts will appear chronologically. You have to alter the dates to alter the order of the list. Open any of your individual posts and go to the date near the top right-hand corner to change the date. Change the date by clicking on it, and save the post to change the order of posts.

Ensure that users have easy access to your articles, which should be in their email, at their leisure. This is important for sharing purposes as well, as many users may not be able to access Facebook or Twitter at work but may want to share your articles with friends. Try using a plugin like WP-Email.

Never use the term “admin” or anything similar for your username. This can make you more susceptible to bots. This creates an unnecessary security risk. Eliminate admin type user names altogether. Choose another username altogether.

Make sure you maintain an organized media library. While uploading images randomly to the library is tempting, chaos can set in. Make a folder structure before uploading, and put the pictures into each correct folder. Just this simple move will make it much simpler to find (and use) photos in the future.

Keep your plugins updated. You can really improve your website with WordPress plugins. But as is the case with most software, they are subject to updates. Failing to maintain current updates may cause you to miss important changes that keep the plugin working well.

Use a plugin that builds internal links among your posts, thus improving the reading experience of your audience. With these plugins, up to five links appear following each post. These links are related to the tag relevance of the posts that appear on your site.

You don’t have to approve comments on your own anymore. Instead, use a plugin entitled Akismet. You can receive an email every time someone makes a comment, but it’s better to have manual approval unchecked and authors with comments already approved to post. You will waste a great deal of time if you approve every comment that is submitted to your site.

Your drop-down menu should be ignored when it comes to selecting the post’s header. Keyboard shortcuts are the way to go! Press Ctrl and single number from one to six for several options. This is a much quicker way of doing things.

Read user reviews prior to installing a plugin. Keep in mind that everyone who can code can create plugins. Don’t use plugins that are flawed and buggy. A plugin that has numerous downloads and high ratings will probably be safe to use.

Does WordPress clutter fatigue you? Just disengage a few of the boxes on your page. You can do this with the top WordPress button labeled “Screen Options.” This will give you a drop-down menu where you can choose which boxes are visible.

Use a variety of blog authoring tools. Is the WordPress dashboard not to your taste? Try an authoring program for a blog like the Windows Live Writer. Many more efficient tools which are WordPress compatible exist. Try some of them to find one that works the best for you.

Create a plan prior to beginning work on your WordPress site. List what you would like to include on the site and the information that your visitors would enjoy reading about. This allows you to shape your website around your plans.

Incorporate images on your site. The saying about a picture being worth a lot more than words is true even today. This will give your site a lot of interest. Use different tags for the pictures so the search engine can easily understand them.

Use a duplicate database to experiment with changes and new plugins before making them a part of your original site. This way, if you make a mistake, it won’t wreck your site or embarrass you.

Don’t forget that it is not necessary for you to build your site all by yourself. You could hire someone or find a friend or family member who is more experienced than you. It’s always best to ensure that the job is done properly the first time.

When planning your site, look up help resources. For instance, look to WordPress forums, blogs and groups online as a means to get the advice you need. Regardless of your question, you can find someone with advice and answers.

Navigating WordPress can be intimidating if you have limited knowledge about it. However, reading this article will help you become more knowledgeable about WordPress. Just implement what you learn here, and you will be on the road to success!