As a WordPress site owner, it can feel like there is a lot to keep track of to grow and maintain a successful page.
From the initial setup of your site to choosing the right plugins to keep it going, making the right decisions now will make your job as a website owner easier in the long run.
For the best results, focus your attention on the following areas.
Know Your Purpose
When you start a WordPress site, do so with purpose. Know what your site is for, and what type of site it will be. Is it a blog, an online store, a news site, or a combination of things? Mapping that at the start helps you choose the right theme and plugins. And it will help you develop the content you need to make your site a success even before your site goes live.
Knowing your purpose and your target will also help you set up your WordPress site to attract and appeal to your ideal customer. When you know the purpose of your site, you can identify your ideal customer, and base the rest of your decisions around that customer persona.
To understand what your target visitor would want from your site, attempt to put yourself in their shoes. How old are they, what are their interests, and where are they visiting from? All of these considerations impact how they will interact with your site.
Younger users, for instance, might be more inclined to click on a video or navigate using a smartphone than an older user. Your content and the responsiveness of your site, therefore, must be aligned with the age of your ideal user.
A clearly defined purpose for your site, and a clearly defined target audience, will keep your site on track as you grow.
Content Generation
Your WordPress site can be well designed and carefully thought out. Without solid content, however, it won’t go very far.
People visit websites because they want interesting and engaging information. Your content should be exactly that.
When you determine what your site is about, and who you are targeting, that tells you to whom your site should be relevant.
Content isn’t necessarily synonymous with a blog, or any kind of written work, for that matter. Depending on your target audience, that content could be infographics, videos, curated links and info from other places on the web. Or, your strategy could combine everything.
Research the type of content your ideal visitors enjoy and share most. Tailor your offerings with this in mind.
As a WordPress site owner, you may be excited to get started, then find that it’s challenging to keep that pace going. As your site grows, so does the pressure to provide something new and exciting.
By planning your content early, you won’t find yourself staring at a blank screen with a fast-approaching deadline.
Measure Your Results
One of the things that makes WordPress great is that it makes metrics easy. There are many plugins a site owner can use to track and quantify metrics.
Take a look at your SEO rankings and how they compare to competitors’ rankings. Check out how well your site is working to funnel people to your calls to action. Learn how often your content is being shared. Discover where you are losing people thanks to broken links, poor content, or a confusing layout.
There are many ways metrics can be used, and you should tailor your analytics tools to your needs. Don’t analyze everything. Remember what is important to your site and focus on those goals.
The best way to use your metrics, therefore, is to identify how well your purpose, your audience, and your content are meshing.
If you’re attracting a lot of people but they don’t stick around, maybe you need to adjust your content or your calls to action. If long-form blog posts are performing better than your videos, maybe it’s time to enhance your video skills, or double down on long-form content.
Metrics do not provide all the answers, but they help you make informed decisions. With metrics to track and compare, you can make a plan that is based on hard data.
Always Have a Plan
The keys to running any website, including a WordPress site, is proper maintenance and having a plan.
Your website plan can include fine details regarding content, back-end updates, and further expansion goals. Or it might be as simple as ensuring your post blogs according to your schedule.
This isn’t the time to start guessing. SEO changes can take several weeks to have a noticeable effect. And consistency breeds results. Experimentation is fine, but, like a scientist, you should keep track of what you are experimenting with and why.
Make a plan, informed by your metrics and feedback you get from clients, visitors, and stake-holders.
In Summary
About 3 out of 10 websites are powered by WordPress. No matter the size, it has everything a business needs to have an effective presence online.
As a WordPress site owner, keep these four tips in mind to ensure that your site connects with your audience and beats the competition with every click.