At 8,500+ words\u00a0this is\u00a0not a casual read, so you’ll probably need this table of contents…<\/p>\n
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Why use WordPress?<\/strong> Well the short answer is, it\u2019s awesome, but we\u2019ll get more in-depth into that shortly.<\/p>\n In order to make your blog a success you need to ask yourself a few key questions before you even get started\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n This may seem like an obvious question, but you have to have a purpose or a goal. If you\u2019re blogging because you love blogging, then great! If you\u2019re blogging for business, you need to decide on what actually constitutes success<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Are you looking for more traffic? Want a bigger search engine footprint? Trying to sell more? Increase brand awareness? Or just as likely, all of the above?<\/p>\n Work out some preliminary key performance indicators (KPIs)<\/a> before you get started. KPIs such as number of sessions, bounce rate, average session duration, pages per session, social shares are all good metrics to track the growth of your blog in the early days.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do you have the resources? <\/strong>Consider everything you\u2019ll need to setup and run a successful blog, such as staff, designers (a huge help), contributors, and most importantly; time.<\/p>\n Are you committed?<\/strong> Probably the most important question of all. If you are not fully committed to regularly blogging and sharing content you\u2019re passionate about, you\u2019re going to fail. If you\u2019re not interested in what you\u2019re writing, how can anyone else be?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n But if you really want a blog you can call your own it makes sense to use a platform you can host yourself, so you\u2019re not at the mercy of a third party.<\/p>\n Blogger might seem like the easy option, but what if Google one day decide to shut it down?<\/p>\n Hosting your own site gives you more control over your blog and its content. So what platform should you choose?<\/p>\n There are plenty of content management systems (CMS) out there that can do a fine job such a Joomla, Drupal, Ghost or Anchor. Or, you could pay a developer to create something completely custom for your needs.<\/p>\n Why\u00a0choose WordPress?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Firstly, popular doesn\u2019t equal best. You only have to look at the state of the music or movie charts these days to work that one out!<\/p>\n But in the world of blogging platforms it is safe to assume there is a reason for its popularity.<\/p>\n How popular you say?<\/strong> Well, the stats are staggering. WordPress is used by over 58%<\/a> of all websites using a CMS.<\/p>\n Even more amazingly, WordPress is the CMS behind nearly 25% of all the websites on the internet today!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n So why is it so popular?<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n WordPress is incredibly simple and intuitive. \u00a0Personally the first ever site I created (note that I don\u2019t use the words \u201cdesigned\u201d or \u201cdeveloped\u201d) was done so using WordPress.<\/p>\n It has a fantastic learning curve for beginners. Some small prior knowledge of HTML and CSS is of course a benefit, but it is not necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n Even if you know nothing of coding you\u2019ll doubt you\u2019ll learn some new tricks along the way as you build and customise your blog.<\/p>\n If you do start messing around with code without really knowing what you\u2019re doing (I\u2019m often guilty of this), WordPress can be very forgiving.<\/p>\n Just remember the golden rule! Even a single keystroke out of place can cause carnage, but as long as you\u2019ve backed up, it\u2019s simple to replace the affected file.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WordPress is free to download and use as you wish, and it\u2019s open source<\/a>, which means developers and designers can make any modifications necessary to customise the platform for your needs.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n WordPress can grow with you, instead of holding you back. It is perfectly at home as a small hobbyist site, or as an enterprise level blog attracting millions of monthly users.<\/p>\n When thinking of scalability the main thing you\u2019ll need to consider is your web hosting environment \u2013 more on that later.<\/p>\n Still not convinced? Here\u2019s just a few of the <\/strong>big brands that use WordPress<\/strong><\/a>:<\/strong><\/p>\n <\/p>\n As WordPress is so ridiculously popular, it\u2019s not hard to get help online. WordPress.org has a wealth of support guides<\/a> available online, which includes a very busy support forum.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, you might not even need to log in and ask a question since you can almost guarantee that somebody online has already experienced the same issue as you, and they\u2019ve quickly been directed to a relatively simple fix.<\/p>\n It won\u2019t be hard to find a local web designer proficient in WordPress either. Good news if you ever want a redesign or any other custom work carried out.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Themes are pre-designed WordPress templates, and in most cases, it\u2019s as simple as uploading and clicking a button to test out a new design for your blog.<\/p>\n There are literally millions of themes available online, some for free, and some premium.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n With so much choice there is absolutely no chance you won\u2019t be able to find a design that suits you.<\/p>\n Failing that, you can always commission a custom theme to be designed for you \u2013 there are\u00a0plenty of designers and agencies who specialise in WordPress themes.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n In the words of WordPress; \u201cPlugins are ways to extend and add to the functionality that already exists in WordPress.\u201d<\/p>\n Or in simple terms, plugins can allow you to add almost any functionality you can imagine to your blog, without having to get into any code. And I do mean almost any functionality, such as:<\/p>\n That\u2019s the tip of the iceberg. I\u2019ve lost count of the number of times I\u2019ve needed some kind of functionality on my own blog, before searching online and quickly finding a plugin that effortlessly does the job for me.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n So WordPress sounds great right? Well, it is, but there are a few negatives. Firstly, it gets hacked \u2013 a lot! A big reason for this is simply because WordPress is so popular, but there are a few common mistakes WordPress users fall foul of that makes it so much easier for hackers.<\/p>\n Since WordPress is open-source, anybody can add code to it, and not everybody knows exactly what they are doing.<\/p>\n One of the biggest security flaws with WordPress is users downloading unsupported plugins that are never updated. These can often be easily exploited by hackers.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n WordPress itself is far from perfect either. Every new release contains bug fixes and patches to plug up security holes found in previous versions.\u00a0<\/p>\n To help stay safe when using WordPress follow these two golden rules:<\/p>\n That\u2019s not all you can do to improve security either. There are some great security plugins available to make your blog a virtual Fort Knox.<\/p>\n This, amongst other reasons, is why there are a sizable number of developers out there that do not like working with WordPress at all.<\/p>\n[Tweet “Only use well-supported and frequently updated plugins on your WordPress blog”]\n In fact, WordPress came out third in a survey of \u201cMost Dreaded\u201d technologies by Stack Overflow<\/a>.<\/p>\n To be fair to WordPress most of the common complaints from developers stem from poor user code and extensions outside the core WordPress install such as:<\/p>\n But unfortunately for developers the world over, as over a quarter of all websites using WordPress today, it isn\u2019t going anyway anytime soon.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Installing WordPress is pretty simple in most cases. There are a few ways to install depending on your web host’s specifications, but all-in-all it shouldn\u2019t take more than ten minutes whatever way you choose.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before we get into the technical installation stuff, you may have noticed that WordPress has two different sites online; WordPress.com and WordPress.org. So what\u2019s the difference?<\/p>\n WordPress.com<\/a> is a little similar to Blogger, where WordPress handles the installation for you and provides the hosting platform.<\/p>\n Using a free account you can create a WordPress site under the URL \u201cyourdomain.wordpress.com\u201d, or alternatively sign up to a premium package and use a custom domain name.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Drawbacks to WordPress.com include not being able to edit the PHP source code, or upload plugins \u2013 plugins are available but represent just a tiny fraction of what is available over at WordPress.org.<\/p>\n WordPress.org is where you can download the WordPress installation files and get your hands dirty by doing it manually.<\/p>\n I\u2019d definitely recommend this option since you\u2019ll have more control over the back end of the WordPress system.<\/p>\n Doing it manually also means you\u2019ll learn more along the way and have a more scalable solution as your site grows \u2013 you\u2019re not restricted with the WordPress.com solution.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Before you install anything you need to decide on a domain name, and the importance of this cannot be underestimated.<\/p>\n This is the name your site is going to be stuck with (unless you make a drastic decision) so you need to choose the domain that best suits your blog.<\/p>\n A domain name needs to be short, memorable, catchy, and most importantly \u2013 available. You\u2019ll find that most of the popular domain extensions are long taken, so you\u2019ll need to get creative.<\/p>\n However, in the last couple of years, there has been a plethora of new domain extensions (i.e. .London, .Club, .Web, etc.) flooding the market.<\/p>\n These new domains maybe a little more expensive (domain price list<\/a>), but you\u2019ll more likely find the name you want.<\/p>\n Make sure your chosen name is available by doing a quick domain name check<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Check out our guide on <\/strong>choosing the right domain name for your website<\/strong><\/a>.<\/strong><\/p>\n \u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n When choosing web hosting for WordPress you\u2019re going to need the following in order for WordPress to work.<\/p>\n Look for a web host that can satisfy your requirements, and can offer different solutions as you grow.<\/p>\n For example, a fairly cheap shared hosting package may be all you require for the first 6-12 months, but as your site gets busier you may find you need more resources, in which case you may want to investigate something a little more dedicated such as a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or Dedicated Server.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n If you\u2019re a newbie to WordPress you\u2019ll want a host with excellent support. Try giving your chosen host a call first.<\/p>\n Do they answer quickly? Is the support desk local or outsourced to a call centre abroad? Is the technical advice sound?<\/p>\n Web hosting<\/a> is a speciality for us at LCN.com so obviously I\u2019m going to take this opportunity to recommend our WordPress hosting<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0(which allows you to install WordPress in a single click), or if you\u2019re after something a little more advanced maybe try one of our cloud servers<\/a>. Contact us<\/a> for more information. [\/end shameless plug]\n <\/p>\n So you\u2019ve chosen WordPress.org, now let\u2019s get to installing.<\/p>\n Depending on your type of hosting there are two main ways to install WordPress. You can install it manually by first downloading the installation files here<\/a>.<\/p>\n The second way of installing, if your host allows, is via a one-click install. Many web servers offer plugins that almost instantly allow you to install WordPress in a single click via your customer control panel.<\/p>\n[Tweet “WordPress is simple to setup, but check with your host as they my offer a oneclick installer”]\n As mentioned previously, we offer that service here at LCN.com. Contact your host to find out.<\/p>\n If not, we\u2019re installing manually. The best way to go about this is using WordPress\u2019 \u201cfamous 5 minute installation<\/a>\u201d guide. Or follow this link<\/a> if you want a more detailed guide.<\/p>\n Here\u2019s a brief overview of the installation process.<\/p>\n That\u2019s about it. However, as touched on earlier, before you upload and install WordPress you\u2019ll need to consider what directory to install it to\u2026<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Think of your webserver the same way you would your folders listed in Windows or OSX. You\u2019ll have one core root folder and anything installed on the root folder<\/a> (and subsequent subdirectories) will show up on your domain name.<\/p>\n So if you install WordPress directly to your root folder, your blog homepage will load as your site home page at http:\/\/example.com<\/em><\/a>. <\/em><\/p>\n So essentially, your homepage is your blog. This is perfect if you are setting up a new blog.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n However, what if you are setting up a separate blog for a site that already exists? The LCN blog would be an example of this scenario.<\/p>\n Our home page at www.lcn.com<\/a> is mainly dedicated to our hosting and domain services, our blog is located in a separate subdirectory at www.lcn.com\/blog<\/a>.<\/p>\n If you want to set up WordPress like this you\u2019ll need to create a new subdirectory within your root folder and name it whatever you want that subdirectory to be called, such as \u201cblog\u201d.<\/p>\n For more information check out WordPress\u2019 guide to giving WordPress its own directory<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once you have successfully installed WordPress, it\u2019ll use its default theme \u201cTwenty Sixteen<\/a>\u201d. This theme is fairly functional but a bit boring and may not suit your particular theme or niche. So it\u2019s time to choose a new theme.<\/p>\n There are two types of theme; free and premium. The number one benefit of a free theme is that there are quite literally thousands to choose from, and they are all\u2026 well, free.<\/p>\n The best place to start looking for free themes is on the most popular themes<\/a> section over at WordPress.org. You can quickly test these themes out from your WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Just look on the left-hand nav bar in your WordPress dashboard for \u201cAppearance\u201d and \u201cThemes\u201d links. You can easily install themes from WordPress.org and even test drive them with the \u201cLive Preview\u201d feature.<\/p>\n However, there are negatives to free themes. A lot of them are no longer supported or never came with any support in the first place.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Once you install it, it\u2019s up to you to make any edits or fixes you may need to complete along the way.<\/p>\n Free themes also may need proper attribution to the original creator \u2013 this may come in the form as a message or link to the creator\u2019s website in the footer of the theme.<\/p>\n Always check the licence too. Many themes are free to use for non-commercial purposes, but then have a licence fee for business users. Always check the documentation that comes with your theme.<\/p>\n[Tweet “Always check the licence of your WordPress theme. You may have to credit the creator.”]\n Searching for the perfect free theme can be bewildering due to the sheer volume available online. In my opinion it\u2019s best to look for a premium theme, preferably one that comes well supported.<\/p>\n Theme Forest<\/a> marketplace is a good place to start, with themes available from talented designers from as little as four or five dollars.<\/p>\n With a budget of around 50-100 dollars you\u2019ll likely find exactly the right design for your site, as well as getting some top quality support from the theme creator.<\/p>\n Another place to look is Elegant Themes<\/a> who offer over 80 brilliantly designed themes and plugins, all available for a one off yearly subscription cost.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Elegant Themes is perfect if you want themes for multiple sites. They also provide an excellent support forum moderated by helpful staff (they\u2019ve got me out of trouble a couple of times!).<\/p>\n <\/p>\n When choosing your theme, think about the kind of layout you want on your blog.<\/p>\n Do you want a traditional three column theme showing categories, posts and archives? Do you want a two column theme to dedicate more space to your posts?<\/p>\n Or perhaps you just need a single column to really let the imagery on your posts do the talking?<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Don\u2019t worry too much about the positioning of elements within the sidebar of the page, since these can be arranged as you wish using the widgets<\/a> feature of WordPress.<\/p>\n Whatever theme you choose it\u2019s vital that it\u2019s mobile optimised (or responsive). Not only is this essential to user experience with mobile and tablet usage\u00a0continuing to grow, but Google have recently confirmed that \u201cmobile friendliness\u201d is now a ranking signal<\/a>.<\/p>\n So having a responsive, mobile-ready site is more important than ever. Thankfully most modern WordPress themes are responsive.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n As I mentioned earlier, WordPress gets hacked a lot. To the extent that some poorly protected sites are under constant brute force attacks<\/a> by opportunist hackers hoping to find someone using weak passwords such as \u201c123456\u201d or just \u201cpassword\u201d.<\/p>\n There are a few simple ways to make this a lot harder for hackers. First, you need to change your username.<\/p>\n For some reason WordPress always sets the admin users username as \u201cadmin\u201d. This is pretty dangerous really, as for all intents and purposes hackers already know half of your login information.<\/p>\n Secondly, choose a complicated password.<\/p>\n I know it\u2019s a pain trying to remember a difficult password, but it is nowhere near as annoying as having to fix a hacked site!<\/p>\n To make your password even more fiendish, use a password generator online like this one<\/a>.<\/p>\n[Tweet “A WordPress blog with a weak password WILL be hacked. Make it complicated.”]\n Next you\u2019ll need to change the WordPress login area, which by default is http:\/\/example.com\/wp-admin<\/em>.<\/p>\n Again, hackers will assume you haven\u2019t changed this default login address and constantly hit it, trying to strike lucky. Don\u2019t let them get that far by changing that to something different, such as http:\/\/example.com\/mysecretlogin58<\/em> .<\/p>\n All this sounds like a lot of work, but thankfully the iThemes Security<\/strong><\/a> plugin will take care of all of this and a tonne of other important security stuff.<\/p>\n Just install it and follow the checklist to close the security flaws in your WordPress site.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Do not skip this step. The second your site becomes popular, you\u2019ll become a target. Be prepared, not sorry.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Your fresh WordPress install is likely to come with just two plugins pre-installed. Akismet; a powerful antispam plugin for stopping comment and contact form spam, and \u201cHello Dolly<\/a>\u201d, which is not really a plugin but an example of how plugins work \u2013 activating it causes random lyrics from the Louis Armstrong song of the same name to appear in the top right of your admin screen.\u00a0<\/p>\n Plugins can offer some great functionality and really help you on your quest for blogging success, but they can come at a price.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As mentioned, old and unsupported plugins can leave your site vulnerable to hackers.<\/p>\n Keeping plugins down to a minimum is also recommended since many plugins can slow your site down as many create extra code your visitor’s browser has to load every time.<\/p>\n For more technical information on plugins and load times, check out this guide at WPengine<\/a>.<\/p>\n We\u2019ll touch more on specific plugins later in this guide.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n WordPress is very SEO (search engine optimisation) friendly out-the-box and you can do most of the on-page SEO work easily enough within your control panel.\u00a0<\/p>\n Best of all, you don\u2019t need to be an SEO expert \u2013 just dedicate a little time and you can reap the results.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n On-page SEO is the practice of optimising your web pages for the benefit of search engines; most likely Google.<\/p>\n I won\u2019t get fully into SEO here, because that would be another 10,000 words on its own. However, we\u2019ve already written a comprehensive beginner’s guide on the subject!<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Make sure every post has a:<\/p>\n Once you\u2019ve got the basics of SEO nailed, it\u2019s time to install Yoast SEO plugin<\/a><\/strong>.\u00a0 There are a few SEO plugins available for WordPress but Yoast offers the most functionality, displayed in the simplest way.<\/p>\n Once installed, you\u2019ll see a section for Yoast on your post editor page. From here you can include your title and meta description, and even get a preview of what it will look like in the search engine results pages.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Yoast will be quick to inform you if you haven\u2019t included your main keyword, or if your meta description is too long.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Permalinks are the permanent URLs to your individual blog post, as well as other categories and tags on your blog.<\/p>\n By default, WordPress permalinks are pretty ugly. You may see that your first post looks something like http:\/\/example.com\/?p=01<\/em> \u2013 \u201c01\u201d being the post ID number.<\/p>\n Thankfully it\u2019s pretty easy to change permalinks to make things look a little prettier. Ideally, you want your post structure and URL to look something like this:<\/p>\n From your WordPress admin area just look for \u201cSettings\u201d on the left-hand nav bar, then choose \u201cPermalinks\u201d.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n \u00a0<\/p>\n Here you can choose your preferred structure, or create a custom structure. You can find more on creating a custom structure here<\/a>.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Site speed and load times are important for any website, and slow loading times is one of the main cause for high bounce rates<\/a>. In short, nobody waits for a painfully slow site. If that wasn\u2019t reason enough to speed things up, back in 2010 Google confirmed<\/a> site speed was a factor in how it ranks website pages.<\/p>\n Large images, poorly coded plugins and themes, slow web hosting, and really long pages that scroll down forever can all make your site load at a snail\u2019s pace.<\/p>\n First, run Google PageSpeed<\/a> Insights tool to get an understanding of speed improvements that can be made.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n As ever, there\u2019s a plugin that can help speed things up. There are plenty to choose from, but\u00a0W3 Total Cache<\/a> is the most popular.<\/p>\n W3 boasts you can get at least a 10x improvement in overall site performance when fully configured.<\/p>\n Take a look at this guide by Smashing Magazine <\/a>for more ways to speed up your WordPress blog.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget to optimise your images for Google search too! Image-rich websites can benefit from the traffic coming via Google Image search, but only if Google understands what your images actually are.<\/p>\n Learn to <\/strong>optimise images for search engines with our beginners guide<\/strong><\/a>. Here are a few key takeaways from that article:<\/p>\n <\/p>\n Analytics and Webmaster Tools are tool vital Google tools every marketer should be proficient in using.<\/p>\n Google Analytics is a powerful and very popular web analytics tool. This free application will provide you with a huge amount of actionable data and metrics to help you monitor your traffic performance.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Analytics can be pretty complicated, but it\u2019s easy to work out the basics such as monitoring how much traffic your site is bringing in, and where it\u2019s coming from.<\/p>\n To install it you\u2019ll need to include your analytics tracking code within the header of your WordPress theme.<\/p>\n For full details on installation and learning how to use Google Analytics, <\/strong>check out our complete beginners’ guide.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n Webmaster Tools, now known as \u201cSearch Console\u201d, is another free Google Service that acts as the link between your site and the Google search engine pages.<\/p>\n Webmaster Tools monitors your website’s health and will alert you to problems it may encounter such as:<\/p>\n If you haven\u2019t got the newly rebranded \u201cSearch Console\u201d set up with your domain\/site you could be missing huge issues that might be stopping your search performance from being as good as it could be.<\/p>\n <\/p>\n <\/p>\n Again it\u2019s very easy to install. Since we\u2019ve already installed Yoast SEO on your blog, just load up Yoast and look for \u201cGeneral\u201d and then the \u201cWebmaster Tools\u201d tab.<\/p>\n Now all you need to do is set up your Webmaster Tools account and drop your ID number into this area of the Yoast plugin.<\/p>\n![\"divider\"](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/divider.jpg\")
<\/p>\nWhy are you blogging?<\/h2>\n
![\"daily](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/01-daily-visits.png\")
Google Analytics is a great way to measure KPIs<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\nWhy choose WordPress?<\/h2>\n
![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/02-wordpress-logo-300x300.png\"){kind=logo}
There are plenty of options for bloggers today. All-in-one services such as Google\u2019s \u201cBlogger\u201d and Tumblr remain very popular due to their simplicity.<\/p>\nIt\u2019s popular<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"cms](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/03-cms-market-share.png\")
WordPress market share – Source: W3Techs<\/em><\/p>\nIt\u2019s simple<\/strong><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s open source and free<\/strong><\/h3>\n
It\u2019s scalable<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
It\u2019s well supported<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/04-wordpress-guides-online.png\")
There’s no shortage of WordPress guides available online<\/em><\/p>\nThemes<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/05-themes.png\")
Some of the most popular themes available at WordPress.org<\/em><\/p>\nPlugins<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
What about the negatives?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"last](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/06-last-update-plugin.png\")
Avoid downloading plugins that haven’t been updated for a while<\/em><\/p>\n\n
\n
<\/p>\nHow to install and setup WordPress<\/h2>\n
WordPress.com vs WordPress.org<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"wordpress.org](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/07-org-vs-com.png\")
<\/p>\nChoosing a domain name<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"available](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/08-domain-available.png\")
Check your domain name is available at LCN.com<\/a><\/em><\/p>\nChoosing web hosting<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
![\"09](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/09-hosting-specs.png\")
PHP and MySQL is support is key – WordPress won’t work without\u00a0both<\/em><\/p>\nOneclick install vs manual install<\/strong><\/h3>\n
\n
\nUpload to your servers root folder for your blog to be found at http:\/\/yourdomain.com<\/em>.
\nOr upload into a subdirectory within your root folder such as \/blog\/, in which case your blog would be found at http:\/\/yourdomain.com\/blog\/<\/em>. More on this below.<\/li>\n
\nIf you installed WordPress in the root folder, you should visit: http:\/\/example.com.<\/em>
\nIf you installed WordPress in its own subdirectory called blog, for example, you should visit: http:\/\/example.com\/blog<\/em>.<\/em><\/li>\n<\/ol>\nWhere to install? Home or \/subdirectory?<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"unzip](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/10-unzip-to-either-root-or-directory.png\")
Unzip the WordPress files into\u00a0either the root folder or a subdirectory like such as “blog”<\/em><\/p>\nChoosing a WordPress theme<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"choosing](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/sydney.png\")
<\/a>Sydney theme<\/a>\u00a0– A popular choice at WordPress.org<\/em><\/p>\n![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/12-divina-theme.png\")
<\/a>D<\/em><\/a>ivini Theme<\/a> – Perfect for photographers or image heavy industries<\/em><\/p>\n![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/13-elegant-themes.png\")
Just some of the great designs available at Elegant Themes<\/em><\/p>\nThink carefully about your blog layout<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/14-2-vs-3-columns.png\")
Are you looking for a two column or even three column theme?<\/i><\/p>\nSecurity<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"ithemes](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/15-ithemes-security.png\")
iThemes Security will go a long way to fixing the security flaws found in WordPress<\/em><\/p>\nPlugins<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/16-plugins.png\")
<\/a>Just some of the most popular plugins available at WordPress.org<\/em><\/p>\n<\/p>\nHow to optimise your WordPress blog for search engines<\/h2>\n
On-Page SEO stuff<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"beginner's](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/17-guide-to-seo.jpg\")
<\/a>Check out our Beginner\u2019s guide to SEO<\/strong><\/em><\/a><\/p>\n\n
![\"SEO](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/18-SEO-yoast.png\")
Optimising a post using Yoast SEO<\/em><\/p>\nPermalinks \/ URL structure<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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![\"wordpress](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/19-permalinks.png\")
Changing permalinks can be done from your WordPress admin panel<\/em><\/p>\nPageSpeed and Caching<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"google](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/20-google-site-speed.png\")
C<\/em>heck out our guide to using Google PageSpeed Insights<\/em><\/a><\/p>\nHow to optimise your imagery<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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Setting up Google Analytics and Webmaster Tools<\/strong><\/h3>\n
![\"21](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/21-analytics.jpg\")
G<\/em>oogle Analytics referral data<\/em><\/p>\n\n
![\"sitemaps\"](\"https:\/\/www.lcn.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/22-WMT-search-console.jpg\")
Search Console (Webmaster Tools) sitemaps feature<\/em><\/p>\n