1. Selecting the wrong platform.

One of the most common mistakes that beginners make when installing WordPress is choosing the wrong platform. Did you know that wordpress.org and wordpress.com are two different platforms? To avoid this error, you need to distinguish the two platforms. From there, you can choose the venue to suit your purpose.

WordPress.org, also known as “real WordPress,” is a popular website platform. It is an entirely free and open-source platform for users. All you need is a domain name and web hosting. This is why it is called self-hosted WordPress (WordPress Self-Hosted).

WordPress.com is a blogging service website created by the WordPress community. This is also a product of Automatic. WordPress.com specializes in serving users who just want a fast WordPress website without any installation, no need to hire a host, and the cost to use a private domain is $ 25 / year.

2. Skip website security step

Website security is always a topic that people care about. However, beginners do not notice and skip this critical installation step.

For your safety, you should choose a password that combines the following elements: uppercase letters, lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters. Currently, the default WordPress installation process is a secure password hint tool from WordPress. It also asks you to check the password in case you enter an insecure password.

3. Use the default WordPress path

When installing WordPress, the URL of a page or article on a website is usually yoursite.com/?p=43. Leaving paths like this will not be indexed by search engines. The keywords within the web address are crucial for finding content and evaluating search rankings.

So the website path is critical. To edit the default WordPress path, we go to Settings -> Permalinks -> Common Settings.

Preferred formats are yoursite.com/post-name or yoursite.com/category/post-name. News sites sometimes include a date inside the link to avoid duplicate links.

4. Keep the default WordPress slogan

WordPress installation, if you do not change the slogan, WordPress will set your default as “Just another WordPress site.” Many new WordPress users do not even know this setup. So accidentally put it into the official slogan for their company’s website.

However, this slogan will affect the search ranking and website description. For that reason, WordPress users need to pay attention to change the saying to suit your website. To be able to change that slogan, we go to Settings -> General -> Slogans. Here you can enter the slogan you want.

5. Select Plugins and Themes from untrusted sources

In fact, when checking 10 free themes, up to 8 items were infected with malware. However, many users have downloaded and used them without knowing that the malware is infected. From there, hackers will activate them and take over your computer.

So you should only download themes and plugins from trusted sites like fancy themes. Or just get it on wordpress.org because there they tested it thoroughly before allowing it to use.

6. Install too many Plugins

One of the advantages of WordPress is the number of plugins that support users a lot. Almost any function you need the plugin can do it. However, if you install too many plugins, it will slow down your website, conflict of functionality.

So before you install a plugin on your website, think about whether you really need it. If it’s simple, you can code it yourself. If you install plugins to try them out, be sure to remove them if you don’t use them.

7. Using inappropriate image size

When using images on your website, make sure the dimensions are right. Large images often increase page load times and waste resources.

The most common mistake people make is to use a large image and then scale it to the desired size. As a result, the image quality will not be high, and the website will be slow. You should use the Image Compression plugin or online image compression sites to reduce the image size before uploading it to the website.