Now that you have the latest version of WordPress installed on your website we want to take a moment and share with you our best practices and next steps. We have listed some recommended to-do’s to get you up and running as fast and as easily as possible.
1. Change Default Admin Username/Password
- Since your unable to change a username in WordPress you will need to create a new user and delete the existing admin user account.
- We recommend that you do not use words like admin, your site name, webmaster, web, etc. as your new username.
- Changing this username for your admin account makes it harder for automatic bots to try to brute force attack your WordPress install.
- Your need to logout of your current admin account first and login with the new account to delete the original admin account.
2. Update Your General Settings
- Is your site SSL (Secure Socket Layer) enabled? If so, add the https:// prefix to your website address to make sure your site loads over SSL.
- Make sure your email address and site data and time formats are correct.
- If you do not plan on having registered users on your website make sure that Anyone can register box is unchecked.
3. Remove Any Unused Themes and Plugins
- Its a good idea to remove any unused Plugins and Themes to prevent the accidental install or activation of them on your site and just to keep things clean and neat. It may also keep your WordPress website a bit more secure as your target surface will be reduced some.
- You will need to keep at least one theme active at all times. Select any unused themes by clicking on the preview and then in the bottom right hand corner select delete to remove any unused themes.
- Not only should you be updating your themes and plugins anytime an update is available, you will want to make sure all plugins are deactivated and even removed if your not using them.
4. Install Plugins
We recommend that you extend some of the basic functions of your default WordPress install by adding some key plugins. Here is a list to get you started of our top go to plugins to install. This list is our free choices:
- Google XML Sitemaps – very popular plugin that helps search engines index your website.
- Broken Link Checker – this plugin keeps and eye on your links and lets you know if any broken links are found.
- Disable Comments – allows you to manage and disable comments on post types and globally on your site.
- Easy Updates Manager – manage all your WordPress updates from one place.
