WordCamp Denver 2018 - What do you do when the developer hands you your brand new website and no training???

1. My Website Is Live, Now
What Do I Do With It?
Michele Butcher-Jones
WordCamp Denver 2018

2. Michele Butcher-Jones
• WordPress Technical Support
Specialist at Thrive Internet
Marketing Agency
• Head Geek behind Can’t
Speak Geek
• Beginners and Intermediate
WordPress Instructor
• Lead Organizer for the
Southern Illinois WordPress
Meetup

3. Websites are not a build and forget project.
They still need attention after they are
completed.

4. What does all of this mean?

5. Domain
• Your domain is the URL or name you use for your site
• It is purchased through a domain registrar like
GoDaddy or NameCheap.
• Your domain is connected to your site’s hosting IP so
when someone types in the domain, it will show you
your site from the files and database that lives in your
hosting server.

6. Hosting and Servers Info
• A hosting company rents you a part of one of their
servers (or a whole server depending on plan) to hold
your websites files and databases.
• FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a way for you to look up
your files for editing, adding or deleting without having
to use your hosting login

7. Logging in for the first time
• You will need your username and password
• The default login page is YourSite.com/wp-login.php
• Once logged in, it will take you to your dashboard
which is found at YourSite.com/wp-admin

8. Site Settings
• There are many options that you will need to get
familiar with in the Settings area.

9. Your Media Folder
• Your media folder is what holds your images, videos,
PDF,s and sharables you keep on your site.
• Each media item will have its own unique URL that you
can use anywhere on your site to show that particular
media item.

10. Post vs Page
• A page is something that typically stays the same on
your site.
• Examples of pages are the home page, contact us
page, and the about page.
• A psot is wher eyou share your news and/or stories
that is always being added to.
• You can think fo them as mini-chapters in a book
or a news feed. Posts are what makes a blog site a
blog site.

11. What is a theme?
• Themes are what makes your site “pretty”
• It is what shows the colors and layout of your site.
• One can use a pre-built theme out of the box,
customize a pre-built theme, or have one custom built.
• A child theme is a set of files that adds special code to
an existing theme so when the parent theme has an
udpate, you will not lose your custom coding when
updating it.

12. What is a plugin?
• Plugins assist with the functionality of a site.
• Plugins can be unitaskers or multitaskers
• The more plugins you have on your site, the slower it
can become.

13. Popular Plugins
• Jetpack - It is an all in one plugin with many features
ranging from help with social media to image
optimization and backups.
• Akismet - It helps to keep spam comments at bay.
• Yoast SEO - For your SEO needs
• WP Rocket - It helps make your site perform better
• Gravity Forms - For any forms on your site.

14. SEO
SEO Plugins can aid in your ranking on search engines
• Yoast SEO
• All in One SEO
Search Engine Optimization is the magical
force that helps your site rank on search
engines which make your site easier to find.

15. Have a content schedule if you
run a blog page on your site.
Regular content posting will help with SEO, give you
more Google love and keep your clients/customers/
readers interested in your website.

16. Update the site as soon as
any information changes
So often a website will have incorrect hours of
operation, sometimes they move and do not
update information, or change product and do
not update their site. This can cause a drop in
business.

17. What do I need to do with my
site to keep it safe?

18. Update!
This is the single, most important task for
maintenance. Many updates are due to security
vulnerabilities being found and fixed.
It is easier and cheaper to have a maintenance
schedule than it is to clean a hacked website.

19. Security
• Use a security plugin such as iThemes Security,
SiteLock, WordFence or enable Brute Protect and Vault
Press on Jetpack
• Use a virus scanner like Sucuri’s Site Check or
VirusTotal
• Regularly check your website for anything out of place
• Regularly Google your site information
• Use Google Webmaster Tools

20. Backups
• Nothing is ever permanent if you have a backup
• Always backup before you make changes
• Keep the backups somewhere other than the server
• Some of the hosting companies have this feature built in
• Popular Plugins
• BackupBuddy
• UpDraftPlus
• BackWPUp

21. Maintenance Helping Plugins
• Jetpack Site Management
• iThemes Sync
• ManageWP
• Infinite WP
• WP Remote
• WP Dash

22. Maintenance Service
Companies
• Thrive Agency
• WP Valet
• MainWP
• 13 Core
• Maintainn
• Satellite WP
• WP Security Lock
• WPMaintainer

23. Always pay attention to the
front end of your website
You know your site the best and with regular
checking of the front end, you will spot
differences quicker. Updating can change how
things look on the front end of a site and go
unnoticed if not inspected.

24. The security side of not maintaining
your site
• Without updating core, plugins and themes the site
can become vulnerable
• A site can be hacked and be used for various different
bad things
• When you do go to update after many versions have
been released, it could break your website
• You can lose all of your site’s files and data

25. The business side of no
maintenance
• Loss of traffic and interest in the site which can lead to
less business
• SEO drops significantly when a site does not receive
regular updating of information and adding content
• Could have old, outdated information, products or
services that could confuse customers

26. Want to learn more?
• codex.WordPress.org
• WordPress.tv
• WPBeginners
• WP Sessions
Check out the internet!
There are many sites that can help you!

27. Questions?

28. Thank you!!!
Michele Butcher-Jones
CantSpeakGeek.com
ThriveAgency.com
@michele_butcher
Slides can be found at http://mlb.pw/denver2018