10 Easy Fixes for Your WordPress Blog

10 Easy Fixes for Your WordPress Blog

Even the smallest things that happen in WordPress can suddenly become huge problems—if you don’t know how to fix them. Here they are, some tiny, some big.

1. Why is there a double return in my posts?

When you are doing a post or page and hit return, it gives you a space between lines. To get to single-line spacing, simply click Shift > Return.

2. How do I create an ‘email me’ link?

If instead of listing your email, you would rather link the text ‘email me,’ just highlight your text, click on the hyperlink button, and in the link URL type, mailto:you@youremail.com

3. How do I make my window bigger?

To enlarge your window, find that little ridged corner in the lower right-hand side of the box and drag it down. Or set it globally in Settings > Writing > size of posts box.

4. Which is better in my URL: underlines or dashes?

Search engines still prefer the dash. WordPress automatically puts them into the URL for posts and pages, but remember to do it when you are creating names for graphics and pdfs, too.

5. How do I fix the time zone settings for when my post is published?

In your Settings > General, make sure you have selected your preferred correct time zone. This makes a big difference when you are scheduling posts.

6. How do I make sure I’m set up for indexing by Google?

Make sure that your privacy settings are set correctly in Settings > Privacy. Typically, you don’t want them to index your pages while you are building your site. But do remember to change it when it’s complete and you go officially live.

7. Why does it say my posts are written by XBob$tl789?

If you are like me, you create strong usernames. Just make sure you have selected your own name under your user settings to show as the author—and not the username you made unique for a reason for security reasons. That is not the one you want to use when you publish your posts.

8. How do I retrieve a lost password?

Always make sure the email you have on your Settings > General page and on your user profile is an active one. If it isn’t, and you happen to lose your password, you will have to dig around in your database via phpmyadmin to set up a new one.

9. Why is my URL still displaying mydomain.com/?p=123?

If you are self-hosted, you should change your permalinks. The search engines will find you so much easier with URLs that have keyword-friendly post and page titles attached to them.

10. Why did my site go poof?

If you’ve been hanging around FBBB on WordPress Wednesdays, you’ve heard me say this before. If you are self-hosted, you need to have a good backup system in place. Shit can happen, so don’t risk coming up empty-handed.

Have you experienced any of these problems with your WordPress blog?


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About Bob Dunn

Bob Dunn is a WordPress blogger and trainer with a design and marketing background. He is known for his uncanny ability to make WordPress understandable to non-geeks. On his blog, bobwp, he teaches WordPress with videos, screenshot tutorials and real-world advice.

  • http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

    Good stuff, sir – the Permalinks one is a personal peeve of mine. Come on, guys, that screams you’re not taking care of your blog, and if it’s meant to be a promotional or awareness platform for you… oy! :)
     
    I also get sheckles when I see a post under the Uncategorized category – what the deuce??? :)

    • http://www.bobwp.com/ bobWP

       @DannyBrown Yeah, those are buggers for me too! I notice with a install recently, by default it the permalink was set for post name, which was different : ) And certainly helps to have a few keywords up there in your URL…

      • http://dannybrown.me/ DannyBrown

         @bobWP I hear “best blogging tips” is a fairly popular one… ;-)

    • http://www.wmwebdesign.co.uk/ wmwebdes

       @DannyBrown
       In thne old Dreamweaver days you could fing thousands of web pages with the title… untitled.html LOL

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  • http://www.ipnostudio.com/ Andrea H. | The Hypnotism Weekly

    Not many being a loyal reader of FBBB. :D
     
    But I just don’t see why the guys at Automattic still allow posts with those strange numbers or categories when no one uses them. And search engines hate them.
     
    Couldn’t they make things easier? ;)

  • http://www.wmwebdesign.co.uk/ wmwebdes

    Hi Bob
    “… Just make sure you have selected your own name under your user settings to show as the author”
     
    If you forget to do that, WordPress displays your username and it is oh so easy to forget!
    Always struck me as odd that WordPress does that as the default.
     
     
    “…you don’t want them to index your pages while you are building your site. But do remember to change it when it’s complete and you go officially live.”
     
    Useful one that, it means that you can build your site directly on the domain without getting indexed before you are ready.
     
    Useful reminders as ever Bob
     
     
     

    • http://www.bobwp.com/ bobWP

       @wmwebdes Thanks!
       
      Yeah, some of the default settings are pretty strange… I have found on some installs even the second row in the editor window is hidden, via the “kitchen sink” button. And people have worked months with just the one row.
       
      Most of the time I am building them live on a server, so I make use of that setting : )

      • http://www.wmwebdesign.co.uk/ wmwebdes

         @bobWP
         I used to get the site perfect on a local install before going live, but working on the live domain is so much quicker.
         
        Plus… things like contact forms can be tricky to get working on a local install.

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  • http://everydaygyaan.com/ CorinneRodrigues

    Thanks @bobWP . The ‘mail me’ one was what I need today. I’m bookmarking this post for future use.

    • http://www.bobwp.com/ bobWP

       @CorinneRodrigues Glad there was a nugget you could use today : ) And that is one I get asked about a lot. Thanks for stopping by!

  • http://www.findpnrstatus.in pnrstatus

    Essential for bloggers like us who make a living with WordPress . Thanks Bob!