Configuring WordPress themes has become second nature to me, but when I first started out, I was so confused. It’s much more complex than simpler platforms like Blogger. But at the same time, overcoming the WordPress learning curve is so worth it if you’re serious about getting your website out there. Today we’re sharing some incredibly useful guides for any WordPress newbies out there. Reading these WordPress tips before or during your WP installation will make a huge difference in how you tackle those first steps of setting up your website. Check them out below!
1. When I first set up my web host and followed the instructions on how to set up WordPress (manually), I kept getting the “white screen of death”. This is when your screen turns white and you can’t access your WordPress account at all. Turns out, this is usually the result of messing something up in the functions.php file, which you really shouldn’t open if you don’t know the php language. Anyway! Thank goodness for Lauren of Restored 316 Designs for writing up this handy post on what do to when you get the white screen of death. I wish I could’ve read this a few years ago!
2. Now assuming you’ve successfully installed WordPress (and avoided the scary issue in #1), you might be wondering what you should do first. I love this post by Fran of Free Borboleta on 10 things to do after installing WordPress. I completely agree with all of these!
3. Angie Makes has an awesome post on how to import content from one WordPress site from another. She also includes instructions on moving content from WordPress.com to self-hosted WordPress.org, and moving content from Blogger to WordPress.org. Follow her easy steps so you get it right the first time!
4. Lastly, making sure your WordPress site is secure is very important. When you’re starting out, you might seek out help from developers or people in WP forums. Unfortunately, it’s hard to know who to trust online. Before you look for outside help, read this post from Get Polished about getting help from strangers without getting hacked.
You may have already seen our archives, but we have several more posts all about WordPress. Here are our favorites:
Web Hosting 101 + Installing WordPress With Bluehost
Why we Love the Genesis Framework for WordPress
5 Essential WordPress Plugins to Install Right Away
Top 10 Genesis WordPress Themes for Bloggers
How to Set up Google Analytics for WordPress
Also! Our 2017-2018 Planner Giveaway ends tonight at midnight! Don’t forget to enter to win before it’s too late. :)