Whether you’re a seasoned webmaster or just starting out, this guide will equip you with actionable insights and practical advice to achieve peak performance from the comfort of your WordPress dashboard.
In This Guide
Applying basic settings
These are essential settings we recommend for any WordPress installation. While not exhaustive, this list includes often overlooked settings and serves as a solid foundation before you hit publish.
General
Settings → General
Set the title
- Set a Site Title even if you plan to use a logo image instead. It can help with SEO by giving search engines more information about your website, and help it rank higher in search results.
Set the tagline
- Set a Tagline even if you don’t plan to use it. Just like a Site Title, a tagline helps improve your website SEO.
Set the site language
- Set the default site language. This determines the language for system messages, administrative interfaces, and any content that doesn’t have a specific language assigned.
Set the timezone
- Set your preferred timezone. This will adjust the dates and times on your website so that your posts are scheduled correctly and keep time-relevant posts up to date for search engines.
Reading
Settings → Reading
Set the homepage
- Set the homepage display to use a static page. Unless you’re running a basic blog, you’ll probably want to create a page for your homepage and another page for your posts. Read our guide for help setting up your homepage.
Permalinks
Settings → Permalinks
Set the permalinks
- Set the permalinks structure to Post Name. This URL structure is both human-readable and SEO-friendly.
Editing your user profile
There’s a lot you can customize in your user profile, but focusing on these essentials ensures a secure site, enhances your personal experience, and improves your users’ interactions.
Profile
Users → Profile
Set your language
- Set your preferred site language. By default, all text displays using the default site language, however you can change these based on your personal language preferences.
Set your display name
- Set your publicly displayed name. By default, your posts will appear with your username. For security reasons, we recommend changing this to a nickname.
Your WordPress site automatically includes author archives at yourdomain.com/author/slug.
- To hide author archive links, uncheck “Link author names to archives” of Author options in the Display Dashboard.
- To change this URL or completely disable the author archives, consider using a plugin.
- To remove this URL from your sitemap, consider using a plugin with granular control over included URLs.
Include a bio
- Include biographical information. This is only necessary if you enable the author description in Less Display Dashboard.
Set your avatar
- Set your profile picture. Your profile picture, also known as an avatar, appears next to your posts, comments, and messages.
Generating a privacy policy
Settings → Privacy
While it is technically possible to run a website without a privacy policy, we always recommended having one. It becomes a necessity if you collect personal data from users, including from cookies often used for site analytics.
Set the privacy policy
- Create or set a privacy policy page. When creating a new policy, avoid using the default information generated by WordPress without tailoring it to your specific needs.
Yes, this may be time-consuming, but don’t overlook it. Aside from data privacy laws and fines for noncompliance, users deserve to know how their information is used.
Also, remember to review and update your policy at least once a year to reflect any changes or new features on your site.
Installing essential Plugins
Plugins → Add New Plugin
Less prioritizes simplicity, and we firmly advocate against introducing technical debt as a solution or installing yet another Plugin. However, due to the bloat-first nature of WordPress, these plugins are considered must-use.
Install the Classic Editor Plugin
- Install the Classic Editor Plugin. The WordPress Editor, also known as the Gutenberg Editor, injects HTML comments into your code to delineate its blocks.
While the comments injected by the WordPress Editor don’t impact functionality, they will persist even if you change themes or move your site.
In the long run, these residual comments can affect code quality, maintenance, scalability, sustainability, and your website’s portability.
Install the Classic Widgets Plugin
- Install the Classic Widgets Plugin. This is only necessary if you use the Classic Editor Plugin and deploy widgets on your site.
Installing essential Boxes
Thesis → Manage Boxes
You will want to familiarize yourself with our guide to installing Boxes before continuing to install our recommended Boxes.
Install the Clean Up WP Box
- Install the Clean Up WP Box. WordPress adds “features” that most sites never use and does not provide a simple way to manage or disable them.
Unfortunately, these “features” are included on every page of your site, regardless of whether you use them or not. This wastes server resources, impacts performance, and could make your site vulnerable to security threats.
We recommend, at minimum, disabling Gutenberg Assets and any other “features” you do not use.