It is tough to dispute the incredible popularity and widespread use of Wordpress among bloggers everywhere. However, in order to really get the maximum utility out of this platform, it is necessary for newer users to spend some time educating themselves on it. The article below should provide a terrific starting point.

Be sure to stay on top of updates! Many updates to add-ons or Wordpress itself are security-based, meaning your site could be compromised if you don't update the software. If it's telling you a new update is available, install it as soon as possible to protect your site from harm.

Make sure your sidebar is not too cluttered. visit the next post on most WordPress blogs are a chaotic mess, full of social media icons and ads and links. Prioritize what goes in your sidebar. Make sure visitors to your blog don't have to search for anything they might be looking for.

If Read the Full Document plan to start a Wordpress blog, make sure that you offer readers more than just content. Even if you say many useful things, it may be quite difficult to engage readers with text. It would be a great idea to implement videos and pictures since this is a great attention grabber.

When you use different tags for the topics on your blog, keep in mind that these are strictly for searching the content on your blog. These can't be used by search engines. If you want your pages to be searchable on Google, you have to install an SEO type plug-in such as Headspace.

Do not make something such as "admin" your own username. Using a username like admin or administrator ups your chances of being hacked. It's a security risk. Go to your page of users and remove usernames that say "admin" or "adminstrator". Choose something else.

Many people are responding to video blogs, so consider this option. Video blogging is not only becoming more popular, it is also becoming much easier to use. WordPress, in its current version, makes the use of video blogging easy. This can really increase traffic by drawing those who are less inclined to read.

Your posts will be in chronological order, but you can change that if you want. First you must modify the date, then you can rearrange the list. The date is always on the top, right-hand corner of every blog post. Change the date by clicking on it and saving it.

If you don't like your theme, change it! There are thousands of free themes available online which allow you to quickly and easily change the look of your site without having to know much about HTML coding. Be sure to choose themes from reputable sites to ensure they don't affect the security of your software.

Look into other themes for your WordPress blog. Sure WordPress comes preinstalled with a few excellent themes, but there are many more options out there. Many are free and then there are premium themes as well. These premium themes are very well designed and let you add more advanced aspects to your blog with ease, such as e-commerce plugins.

Organize your permalinks. You need to make your links easy for the search engines to find your important information. You should learn proper SEO to do this. In the meantime, you can use WordPress's included permalink form to clean up links before publication. Cut words down to only the most important ones. Also, try cleverly adding your keywords to your descriptions.

Control unruly spam not by turning off comments, but by installing the right plugin. Aksimet's anti-spam plugin is exceptional at keeping your site on the up and up. You can also add Recaptcha which adds a captcha to the comments box on your site, ensuring no bots can leave a message.

Use the Comments tab in the Wordpress dashboard side bar to keep tabs on who is posting what on your site. This will save you the hassle of getting an email every time someone says something in reply to a post. In the end, you just don't have time for that!

Use a security plugin. Keeping your blog secure is important, and there are plenty of plugins out there that promise to do just that. Try a plugin you feel you can trust. Wordfence is a good choice. It offers a firewall, does virus scans, blocks any malicious networks, and is free.

There is little debate about the tremendous appeal of Wordpress among bloggers of all types. It is terrific way for beginners to get their foot in the door, but it can also be used by more advanced bloggers as well, to great result. Keep the tips found above handy, and Wordpress can become a versatile tool that will be employed for years to come.