I thought about putting together a WordPress Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ) Page however I soon realised that there are distinct groups of people who ask similar questions (e.g. WordPress ‘newbies’ often ask ‘how do I add video to a page’ whereas more experienced users often ask ‘how do I change the Theme images’). There is also a big overlap between WordPress and Search Engine Optimization (SEO) as WordPress is well known for its natural SEO architecture/abilities. SEO, of course, has massive scope and, again, the questions asked depend on the experience of the question-asker.
In lieu of a dedicated FAQ Page, here then are seven of the more common questions that I am asked by people in general (all delivered in a Blog Post):
No-one is visiting my Website from the Search Engines. What should I do?
Google, Bing, Yahoo and the other Search Engines index billions of Webpages. For any category or keyword you are competing with millions of Websites. What makes your Website and Webpages better than the ones that have already proven themselves? Keep in mind that the Search Engines are aiming to meet the Search needs of the people using their search facilities. It is very simple for a person to use Bing instead of Google for example so the quality of the Search Results must meet what the searcher is looking for or the searchers will try a competing Search Engine. Google etc. aren’t going to recommend a Website for a search that doesn’t have any authority as it increases the risk to Google that the Webpage won’t meet the needs of the searcher. Why would a Search Engine recommend your Site over others that have proven themselves to add value to a searcher?
I’ve just setup my Website and no one is leaving comments. Why?
See the answer to the ‘no-one is visiting my Website …’ question above. If you don’t have visitors then you don’t have comments (this is obvious however many people fail to realise the correlation between Website visitors and comments). In addition, a tiny proportion of visitors will leave a comment. With the prevalence of ‘social media’ there are many means for people to ‘comment’ about your Site and content. The best tips for getting people to leave comments are to make it easy for people to leave comments and write interesting and helpful content that encourages people to comment.
How often should I Blog?
How often you Post content is not as important as the quality of the content that you post (publish). Some guidelines say that one should Post at least twice a week for the first few months of a new Blog and then maintain at least a Post a week thereafter. There is however no ‘hard and fast’ rule around this but it is good SEO to post regularly; as named earlier however, make sure that the quality of the content is always good!
Is WordPress best for Blogging?
WordPress is certainly one of the best services for Blogging however there are other very good Service for Blogging such as blogger.com. The biggest advantage that WordPress has over rival Blogging software and services is that WordPress is enormously scaleable; should one want to create a Website from a Blog, then WordPress is very easily ‘converted’ into a Website and Content Management System (CMS).
Is WordPress easy to use?
Yes and no … let me explain …
Adding fuel to your car is simple and you can do this easily right? Changing the suspension on your car however is more complicated and you need specialist knowledge.
WordPress is much like this analogy in that adding and amending content is simple but extending functionality may require specialist knowledge. WordPress is enormously powerful and has been developed by thousands of people over many years. The parts of WordPress that are simple to use are just that, simple to use. The parts of WordPress that are technologically complex require advanced knowledge (just like your car mechanic needs specialist skills and experience). Compared to every other CMS/Web Software I have used WordPress is by far the most logical and simple to use.
What is the Difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
WordPress.com is a freemium Online Service where hosted WordPress may be used for Blogging and websites. A variety of functionality and Themes (the ‘look and feel’) of WordPress are available free of charge. ‘Premium Services’/Upgrades are available for those requiring additional functionality such as a non ‘.wordpress.com’ subdomain name (i.e. if you want to use your own URL). For blogging alone WordPress.com will suit almost everyone.
WordPress.org provides GPL WordPress software (free to use) and information. People may then download and install this software on a Webhost of their choosing (this is often termed ‘self-hosted WordPress’). WordPress.org also provide thousands of themes and plugins for free use with WordPress software (additional Plugins and themes may be found via an Internet Search). People and businesses requiring using WordPress as a CRM or Website (as opposed to using it purely for Blogging) usually use self-hosted WordPress.
Can I use my business branding on my WordPress Website
If you use wordpress.org software (i.e. self-hosted WordPress) then you may either configure an existing Theme to suit your branding or you may attain a custom WordPress Theme where you are free to define the look and feel and functionality of the Theme. WordPress.com users are limited to approximately 100 Themes. Creating WordPress Themes requires HTML, CSS, PHP, JavaScript and WordPress knowledge however there are numerous Themes that have a great many configuration options available (e.g. the Constructor Theme)
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