Learn how to go from having a standard WordPress site to having one that performs and looks awesome. First I talk about Voice and Purpose, which are two extremely important ingredients for any site. I talk about items such as choosing a more advanced theme that has greater functionality, keeping your blog secure, adding useful plugins that help engage your community and maximize your SEO, and more. Originally presented at the International Food Bloggers Conference in Seattle, 2015.

1. Essential Ingredients of a
WordPress Website
International Food Bloggers Conference, Seattle 2015
Sara Rosso @Rosso Director of Marketing, Automattic | WordPress.com

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Blogger. Food. More.

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Preparation

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Voice

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–Sara Rosso (@rosso)
“Voice is not what comes
out of your mouth;
it’s what comes
out of your passion.”

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Conversion;
Purpose

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– @TheBloggess
“If you’re blogging to make a
million dollars you should
probably switch to something
more lucrative, like…I dunno…
making a sex tape.”

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Are Page
Views Enough?

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“In 2004-5, I was the first
personal website to take
advertising. Now it’s why you
start one.
If you’re doing it for fun there’s
nothing to worry about. If you’re
looking to make an income, this is
not a good way.”
–Heather @ Dooce

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Follow on Social
Channels

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Jetpack Social Media Icons
Social Media Icons, Twitter Site Tag

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Subscribe

14. Subscriptions

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Jetpack Subscribe
Subscriptions

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Newsletter

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Work With You

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Appetizers
antipasti
entree

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Start Here

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About

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Related Content

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30. Main courses
Primi/secondi
Plats

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Theme Inspiration

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–Matt Mullenweg, co-founder, WordPress
“An ugly blog with incredible
content will win over a beautiful
blog with crappy content.”

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WordPress’ Default
Theme

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Twenty Fifteen

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WordPress.com Theme Showcase
https://theme.wordpress.com

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Commercial Theme Directory
https://wordpress.org/themes/commercial/

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But…
I’m not a developer!

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Twenty Fifteen

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Theme Customizer

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One Theme, Three Ways:
Coraline

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Featured Images

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Site Icon

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<—More—>
and
Post Excerpts

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<!- - more - - >
a manual break you can insert into your content,
where “Read more” shows up.
excerpts
automatic; can be overridden by custom excerpts
how it’s displayed depends on your theme
used when ‘excerpts’ are selected for RSS feeds
More and Excerpts

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Tiled
Galleries

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Recipe Pages

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Mobile-ready

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Google Mobile-
Friendly Test

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Test Your Site’s Mobile Compatibility
https://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/mobile-friendly/

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If it fails,
consider changing
themes.
https://wordpress.org/themes/search/responsive/
Mobile Theme

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Desserts
Dolci
Dessert

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Pinterest

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Title + Alt-Text Your Images

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Jetpack Sharing

85. https://business.pinterest.com/en/pin-it-button

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Mobile Apps

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iOS and Android WordPress apps
https://apps.wordpress.org/

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Security and Backup

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Use a strong password
Keep your WordPress version updated
Update plugins and themes, or uninstall them
Secure hosting environment
Additional protection and security
Securing your WordPress Site
Protect, Monitor

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Caching

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SEO?

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How Google Ranks Search Results

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Set custom ‘pretty’ permalinks (/post-name)
Use descriptive titles
Keep post slugs (/post-name-here) succinct
Alt-text your images
Link to your own related content in posts
Use Google Webmaster Tools
6 Non-Plugin SEO Tips

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Write often.
Write well.
2 Bonus Non-Plugin SEO Tips

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A note about choosing
WordPress plugins

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Ratings (average and volume)
Active installs
Quality of documentation
Last updated
Compatible up to
WordPress Plugins

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Choose plugins in the repository as much as possible.
Plugin authors are agreeing to the basic tenets of
WordPress.
The WordPress security team has direct contact with
plugin author.
Authors are not required to provide support for plugins.
Choosing WordPress Plugins

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Coffee
Caffè
Café

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The WordPress
Community

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“WordPress is made by real
people.”

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WordCamp.org

107. WordPress.meetup.com

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Give it a try, or
Give back.

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Sara @Rosso
sararosso.com
Director of Marketing
Automattic / WordPress.com
(We’re hiring!)
@Automattic automattic.com/jobs
www.wordpress.com/website
Thank you!