WordPress – Simple and Effective
Our Website Dogreal.com is a WordPress-powered website that was created by me because of my passion for dogs and a desire to share their knowledge and experiences with the best website platform in the world.
With WordPress as my platform of choice, We at Dogreal discovered that WordPress had everything I needed to control and upload content to Google and many other search engines to be discovered worldwide. All this was made possible by an easy-to-understand dashboard a few easy-to-use plugins and some advice. However, getting to this point wasn’t always easy. It took three attempts for me to finally master the ins and outs of WordPress and create the website we have today. A WP – Website that is Simple and Effective for our readers to navigate.
Here you will learn about the challenges we Dogreal faced and the lessons we learned along the way. From struggling with technical issues to grappling with the nuances of content creation and marketing, So, whether you’re new to WordPress or a seasoned user looking for inspiration, “Third Time Lucky: How I Conquered WordPress” is sure to be a valuable read.
What is WordPress
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system that allows you to easily create and manage your website, blog, or online store. It’s been around since 2003 and has become super popular, powering over 40% of all websites on the internet! But that’s not why I wanted a WordPress website. I was told for Blogging I needed Blogger or Wix.
Now, when it comes to WP there are two versions of WordPress, there’s WordPress.com and WordPress.org. WordPress.com is a hosted version of WordPress where you can sign up for a free or paid account and get access to a bunch of features and tools. This is a good option if you’re new to website creation and want something quick and easy to use.
On the other hand, there’s WordPress.org, which is the self-hosted version of WordPress. This means you download and install it on your web server, giving you complete control over your website. This version is great if you’re a business or professional who needs advanced customization and functionality.
WordPress.com might be the way to go. But if you’re looking for complete control over your website and need advanced customization options, then WordPress.org is likely the better choice.
How I Conquered WordPress First Attempt:
“What is Hosting?” Well, let me break it down for you as we confronted the same question.
Web hosting is a service that allows you to make your website accessible to the world wide web. Think of it as renting a space on a server, which is a powerful computer that stores and serves up your website’s files to anyone who wants to access it. Via a Blog post, Press Release, websites, etc.
When you sign up for web hosting, you’re essentially leasing a portion of that server’s resources, such as storage space, bandwidth, and processing power. This enables your website to be available 24/7 to anyone who wants to visit it, without you needing to keep your computer turned on all the time.
Web hosting comes in many different forms, from shared hosting where you share server resources with other websites, to dedicated hosting where you have an entire server to yourself. There are also different levels of hosting, such as managed hosting where the hosting provider takes care of maintenance and updates for you, or unmanaged hosting where you’re responsible for everything.
So, that’s a basic overview of what hosting is. Without web hosting, your website wouldn’t be accessible to the public, so it’s a crucial component of any online presence.
This is also where we listened to the wrong people and it cost us a considerable amount of time and money for something we didn’t need when starting Dogreal.
We recommend BlueHost for your Hosting and by using BlueHost you get WordPress included for free. We will talk about your domain name later and why it’s important to know what is the best domain name for your needs.
Does Bluehost Give You a Free Domain?
Yes, Bluehost offers a free domain name registration for the first year to customers who sign up for their web hosting services. This means that when you purchase a web hosting plan from Bluehost, you can choose a domain name for your website and Bluehost will cover the cost of registration for the first year.
The free domain registration applies to several top-level domain extensions, such as .com, .net, and .org. However, keep in mind that if you choose a domain name that’s already taken, you may need to choose a different name or extension.
After the first year, you’ll need to renew your domain registration at the regular price. However, Bluehost often runs promotions and discounts on domain registrations, so you may be able to save money on renewal costs. This didn’t happen for Dogreal as we purchased our domain from a Domain Broker.
How I Conquered WordPress Second Attempt: Themes and Plugins
Choosing the right theme and plugins for your website can greatly impact its functionality, user experience, and overall success. Here’s why I chose a simple blog theme and the plugins I use for Dogreal:
For the theme, I chose a simple blog theme because I wanted to keep the focus on the content and make it easy for visitors to navigate and read the articles. A simple theme also loads faster and is less likely to cause technical issues or conflicts with other plugins.
When I first started I chose Astra as my theme and Elementor as my builder. I spent time learning via videos and countless searches to work out one simple thing I could not do it as I had no experience. I hired a person on Fiverr and he built this website and gave me instructions that in the end BROKE MY WORDPRESS. The instructions were correct but I must have done something and I was locked and panicking.
I called support at BlueHost who transferred me to tech support and they fixed the website but I had lost a lot of content. I hired another person to rebuild the website and when I returned the content manager it was changed to WPBakery, not Elementor. I was lost again and had to pay again to go back to Elementor. I finally found a video about Classic Editor and Classic Widgets that help me and changes the outcome.
WARNING:
When choosing a plugin not supplied by Bluehost on your WordPress – Make sure you read the bottom of the box that it is compatible with your version of WP. You May Break Your WordPress
Yoast SEO: This plugin helps optimize the website for search engines and provides tools for improving the content and readability of each article. But only to get an Idea about the content I provide and what is needed to help rank the content on Google.
Akismet Anti-Spam: This plugin protects the website from spam comments and ensures a better user experience for visitors. You will need this as comment spammers are the first thing you will get as soon as you post.
Jetpack: This plugin provides several useful features, including site stats, social media sharing buttons, and a contact form. I mainly use this plugin for stats and views, visitors, and locations
UpdraftPlus: This plugin automatically backs up the website’s files and database to ensure that the website can be easily restored in case of a technical issue or hack. Since my website is content I back up every week and it is necessary as no matter how careful you are one click can spell disaster.
Fonts Plugin | Google Fonts Typography: If I need to change the font I can do so easily with Classic Editor.
Link Whisper Free: To anchor my posts I use this plugin to give me ideas on what is relevant to the content I am creating. Tip Use Control F to highlight where the link should go in the text.
MOBILOOK: This allows you to see a mobile version of your content, very helpful when you need to shorten your headings.
Overall, the plugins I use for Dogreal help improve its functionality, security, and user experience. When choosing plugins, it’s important to consider their purpose, compatibility with the theme and other plugins, and overall impact on the website’s performance.
How I Conquered WordPress Third Attempt:
Finding the right balance with WordPress is crucial for successfully managing your website or blog.
Here are a few tips and tricks on how to balance the settings, pages, and posts to help you conquer WordPress:
Settings: Make sure to review and adjust your WordPress settings according to your preferences. This includes things like general settings, permalinks, and media settings. Taking the time to adjust these settings can help improve the overall functionality and user experience of your website.
Pages: Pages are essential components of your website, and it’s important to ensure they’re well-organized and easy to navigate. Use a clear hierarchy for your pages, including a homepage, contact page, and any other pages you need to showcase your content or services.
Posts: Posts are the bread and butter of any blog, and it’s important to balance the quantity and quality of your posts. Posting too often can overwhelm your readers, while not posting often enough can cause them to lose interest. Aim for a consistent schedule and focus on creating high-quality content that your readers will find valuable.
Categories and Tags: Categories and tags help organize your posts and make it easier for readers to find the content they’re interested in. Take the time to properly categorize and tag each post, and make sure to use relevant keywords to help improve your site’s SEO.
Backups and Security: Finally, it’s important to balance your focus on creating content with ensuring the security and safety of your website. Regularly back up your site and install security plugins to help protect against hacks and cyber attacks.
By finding the right balance between settings, pages, and posts, you can conquer WordPress and create a successful website or blog that engages your readers and helps you achieve your goals.
How to Choose the Domain Name.
Choosing a domain name is an important step in creating a website, as it will be the primary way visitors will find and remember your site. Here are a few tips on how to choose a domain name:
Keep it simple: Choose a domain name that is short, easy to spell, and easy to remember. Avoid using numbers or hyphens, as they can make your domain name harder to remember and type correctly.
Make it brandable: Your domain name should reflect your brand or business. Make it unique and memorable, and try to avoid using generic words or phrases.
Use keywords: Including relevant keywords in your domain name can help improve your site’s SEO and make it easier for visitors to find you through search engines.
Consider your niche: If you have a specific niche or target audience, consider incorporating relevant words or phrases into your domain name to help attract the right visitors.
Check availability: Before finalizing your domain name, it’s important to check its availability for registration. You can use a domain registrar like GoDaddy or Namecheap to do this. However, if you’re planning to use Bluehost as your web hosting provider, you can also get your domain name for free when you sign up for their hosting service. Bluehost offers a free domain name for the first year of hosting, which can be a convenient and cost-effective option for those just starting their website.
Remember that your domain name is an important part of your website’s branding and identity, so take the time to choose one that fits your business or brand and resonates with your audience.
Keywords and Quick Edit:
When using the Yoast SEO plugin on WordPress, it’s important to make sure that you use your targeted keyword phrase in your content. This can help improve your site’s search engine optimization (SEO) and make it easier for search engines to understand the topic of your content.
In addition, Yoast SEO offers a “Quick Edit” feature that allows you to easily edit your post’s metadata, including the title tag, meta description, and targeted keyword phrase. When using this feature, make sure to use your keyword phrase in a natural and relevant way, and avoid stuffing it into your content in a way that doesn’t make sense or appears spammy.
Remember that using targeted keyword phrases is just one aspect of SEO, and it’s important to also focus on creating high-quality content that engages your audience and provides value. By using Yoast SEO’s keyword and quick edit features effectively, you can help improve your site’s visibility in search engine results and attract more visitors to your site.
Important Note:
If you use Yoast it can happen that Yoast will use your title as your keyword by default so make sure you go to Quick Edit and check your Title and SLUG are correct.
Finally:
Your SLUG is the keyword that Google will look at to rank your content, be sure it’s what you want to rank and that your content reflects your keyword in your Quick Edit. in your post edit.