WordPress beginners often have many questions and they want answers. Once you’ve installed WordPress, what do you do now and what do you do when you run into a road block? Here are some of the most comment questions asked by those new to WordPress and the answers to these questions.
Why Can’t I See the Plugins Menu in My Dashboard?
Often, beginners to WordPress don’t understand why they cannot see the plugins menu within their WordPress dashboard. If you face this issue, you’re using the free WordPress.com platform instead of the self-hosted WordPress.org. The free WordPress.com doesn’t provide the ability to use WordPress plugins.
However, if you read our post about Moving a Blog from WordPress.com to WordPress.org.
How can I make My WordPress Website Load Faster?
Whether for SEO reasons or just to provide a better user experience, speeding up your WordPress site is very important. One of the easiest ways to speed up your site is to use the W3 Total Cache plugin or another Cache plugin.
Can I Use Google Analytics with my WordPress Blog?
Yes, you can use Google Analytics and it’s recommended that you do. Google Analytics will allow you to track many parts of your WordPress website. You will be able to see where your visitors are coming from, how they are finding you and more. If you want to use this tool with WordPress, you can follow our guide to installing Google Analytics in WordPress.
How do I Embed Videos Within My WordPress Posts?
Embedding videos can add quite a bit of value to your blog and your content. Whether you want to use your own videos or just any video from YouTube or another video hosting site, you need to know how to embed videos within your posts.
The process is very simple and you can just post the URL for the video within the post. Make sure to put it where you would like it to show up. For more information about embedding videos in WordPress, check out our post about The Easiest Way to Embed Videos in WordPress.
Is it Possible to Install WordPress on my PC?
Installing a copy of WordPress on your PC is possible. You can do this fairly easily, but you will need the right tools. Another thing to keep in mind, when you install WordPress on your PC, nobody will be able to see your website until you publish it with your own hosting account.
You can find out how to install WordPress on your PC without post called, A Quick Guide to Installing WordPress with WAMP on your Windows Computer.
Can I Hide My Site Until I am Done with the Design?
Yes, you can hide your site until you are ready to release it to the public. This is done with the right plugin. Once you install and activate the plugin, you will be able to check the right option to put your site into development mode. For more information on hiding your site during development read our post called, How to Hide Your WordPress Site During Development.
What’s the Difference Between a Page and a Post?
Understanding the difference between a post and a page in WordPress will make a big difference. With both of these options within WordPress, you will be able to not only create a static website, but also a blog. This provides more SEO power and many benefits for your new WordPress website.
If you want to understand the full difference between pages and posts, read our post called Pages vs. Posts.
What are Pingbacks and Trackbacks?
A very common question from WordPress beginners has to do with pingbacks and trackbacks. As you post to your blog, you will notice these showing up in your comment section. They won’t make much sense to you, if you don’t understand what they are. If you want to know what Pingbacks and Trackbacks are, read our post called, A Simple Guide to Pingbacks and Trackbacks for Your WordPress Blog.
These are just a few of the many frequently asked questions coming from WordPress beginners, you can find out about even more WordPress FAQs from beginners without second part to this post found here: WordPress Beginner’s FAQs – Part Two.
