First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist
- 19 Comment
So you’ve graduated to the big leagues, registered your own domain name and installed a fresh copy of WordPress. Now what? First things first: before you get to blogging, make sure you follow a few simple steps.
Change the default WordPress theme.
The default Kubrick theme is cool, but long overdue for a makeover. Check out Smashing Magazine’s list of 83 beautiful WordPress themes including 10 more here.
Update your permalinks.
Create user/search-engine friendly URL’s for your permalinks and archives. This can improve the aesthetics, usability, and forward-compatibility of your links.
Ditch the WYSIWYG editor.
Sorry, but what you see is not always what you get. Ditch the WYSIWYG editor altogether by visiting your profile and personal options. Uncheck “Use the visual editor when writing” and apply the changes.
Change the Date and Time options.
More than likely, UTC time is not your time. Adjust your timezone offset (-7 for Pacific Time) and specify which day of the week the calendar should start on. Date and time adjustments can be located under “General Options”.
Activate Askimet or related SPAM plugin.
Protect your blog. Activate the bundled Askimet plugin using your Wordress API key. Don’t have one yet? Signup for a WordPress.com account and they will email you an API key.
Update your Ping list.
The default WordPress ping service does not ping all the site update services you need to syndicate your blog and get it spidered. Daily Blog Tips also recommends the following list of blog pinging services.
Check your page titles.
Repeat after me. Post title before blog title… post title before blog title. Better yet, just get the SEO Title Tag plugin by Netconcepts and be done with it.
Check your META tags.
Although META tags won’t make or break your blog, the Head Meta Description plugin by Kaf Oseo provides an automatic meta description tag for your blog. With any luck, this may help you avoid supplemental hell.
Bust out a sitemap.
Create a XML-Sitemap compliant sitemap of your WordPress blog so that search engines can more intelligently crawl your site.
Fix your feeds.
Prop your syndication feed links on a pedestal by placing them above the fold and make sure the “Full text” option is selected under “Reading Options”. Also, be sure to redirect them to your FeedBurner feed so you can track every possible subscriber.
19 Comments on this post
Trackbacks
-
Vijay said:
Thanks I only had 4 of these ideas implemented. I am fixing the rest of them right away.
Vijay
June 13th, 2007 at 5:42 am -
n1ce said:
Great starting list.
I also found and am using:
http://www.downloadsquad.com/2007/01/15/wordpress-the-complete-post-install-checklist/September 23rd, 2007 at 5:35 am -
Idetrorce said:
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
IdetrorceDecember 15th, 2007 at 2:59 pm -
Maximus said:
I would like to see a continuation of the topic
December 20th, 2007 at 12:04 am -
SEO Training said:
Last step, join Stumbleupon if you’re not already a member and also find some blogging forums in your niche or location to get support and advice. Thanks for an excellent post.
September 7th, 2008 at 3:16 am
Loading ...
[...] Wordpress Pre-Launch Checklist: a simple checklist of things that you should perform before launching your Wordpress blog. Daniel on May 27, 2007 | Filed Under Reader Tips [...]
[...] First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist — Seldom Static So you’ve graduated to the big leagues, registered your own domain name and installed a fresh copy of WordPress. Now what? First things first: before you get to blogging, make sure you follow a few simple steps. (tags: blogging wordpress) [...]
[...] Check list - - Adoro las checklist… son esas cosas que me hacen ingeniera a más no poder. Hacer tics y [...]
[...] lancez un nouveau blog sous Wordpress? Voici la checklist à parcourir avant de [...]
[...] despre iconiţe, butoane şi template-uri- 10 lucruri de verificat înainte să lansezi un sit- Lucruri de verificat înainte să lansezi un blog cu WordPress- 5 rapoarte de la Google Analytics utile bloggerilor- 20 de servicii ce oferă email temporar [...]
[...] know I had all that stuff in the works but had been too lazy to add it yet. Aaron has a great pre-launch checklist for WordPress blogs that has some great tips for things you should do if using WP for your [...]
[...] another note here’s an interesting link to a Post Wordpress installation check list. i.e all the things you should change once you’ve [...]
[...] Wordpress Pre-Launch Checklist [...]
[...] Seldom Static - First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist [...]
[...] Seldom Static - First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist [...]
[...] Seldom Static - First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist [...]
[...] Seldom Static - First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist [...]
[...] Seldom Static - First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist [...]
[...] Seldom Static - First Things First: WordPress Pre-Launch Checklist [...]