One of the benefits of WordPress is how easy it is to set up and customize, but this means you might never delve into some of the convenient features that are just a few clicks away.
src: flickr
1. SEO
Search engine optimization has never been more important, and the way you craft your site might not naturally include the alt text, keywords and headings that help let Google know what your site is about. Fortunately, WordPress makes it easy with plug-ins like YOAST SEO and All-In-One SEO. The former allows you to enter target keywords, and then it advises you on keyboard usage and placement. It's got a red-green-yellow system to help you determine whether your posts and pages are meeting SEO standards. All-In-One SEO lets you specify keywords and a meta description; however, it's not quite as user friendly.
2. Media Embedding
While you can grab the code to embed your favorite YouTube video or your company's latest Instagram photo, you don't actually have to. If you simply paste the URL from popular media sites, WordPress will do all the work for you. The sites that work with this service include:
- YouTube
- Flickr
- Hulu
- SoundCloud
- Viddler
- Vimeo
However, a few more sites make the list. Try it, and if it works, you'll save a few minutes. This adds up a lot in the long run. Technically, every site that supports the oEmbed protocol works with this method, so you can add specific sites by editing functions.php in your theme folder. The following example allows you to register a media site and provider:
< ?php wp_oembed_add_provider( 'http://site.com/watchvideo/*', 'http://site.com/oembedprovider' ); ? >
3. Use Keyboard Shortcuts for Comment Moderation
Just like your operating system has keyboard shortcuts, so does WordPress. You must first enable them under "Users > Your Profile." These shortcuts are currently used with blog comments. When it comes to comments, they have to be selected. Pressing "J" will move down the comment list and highlight the selected comment in blue. You can then process the comments with a series of keystrokes:
- fa"A" to approve
- "S" to mark as spam
- "D" to delete
- "Z" to restore
- "U" to unapproved
- "R" to reply
- "Q" to open the edit feature
However, you don't have to edit comments on a one-by-one basic. You can select them and press "X" to activate the checkbox. Press "J" or "K" to navigate through the list, and you'll be able to select multiple comments and perform action on all of them by pressing the "Shift" key and the specific letter key simultaneously.
This article was written by Aubrey Phelps, a writer for Free Guest Post. In her spare time she loves reading and being outdoors.