Optimizing Your WordPress Website

In a world of three-letter acronyms that dictate the digital world, CMS probably rules the roost. A Content Management System, or CMS, is an online tool that makes creating, hosting, editing, and managing your content online completely accessible. The single biggest advantage of using CMS is that it requires no programming experience. Anyone with enough knowledge about basic website interfaces, content placement, and general software knowledge can create and manage a website on various CMS platforms.

GSG Pro Tip: Always test major WordPress changes on a staging site first. This prevents live site issues and allows you to experiment safely.

However, when it comes to CMS, WordPress is the best place to go. A study revealed that over 40% of websites on the web are powered by WordPress. Chances are, out of the 10 tabs you have opened on your browser, 4 of them are created using WordPress. Now that you’ve created your website/blog page on WordPress, what next? The answer is optimization. Optimizing your WordPress site increases loading speed, and improves user experience (no user would wait forever for your website to load!) However, there are a few very common mistakes that website developers, editors, and creators often make. Ignoring these mistakes can lead to a faulty website, low engagement, and even lower search rankings, not to mention a below-average user experience.

Quick Navigation: WordPress Optimization Mistakes to Avoid

Choosing the Wrong Theme
Using Unoptimized Media Files
Skipping SEO Audits
Not Integrating Analytics
Paying More Than Needed
Ignoring WordPress Updates
Not Having a Contact Form

Mistake	Consequence	Severity	Fix Difficulty
Wrong Theme	Poor user experience, high bounce rates	High	Medium
Unoptimized Media	Slow loading, poor performance	High	Low
No SEO Audits	Low search rankings, poor visibility	Critical	Medium
No Analytics	No performance tracking, blind decisions	High	Low
Overpaying	Unnecessary costs, reduced ROI	Medium	Low
Ignoring Updates	Security vulnerabilities, missing features	Critical	Low
No Contact Form	Lost leads, poor customer service	Medium	Low

1. Going for the Wrong Theme

Warning: Poor theme selection is one of the most common reasons for WordPress site abandonment. Users judge sites within seconds based on visual appeal.

Have you ever come across websites that wish to display some information, but the theme of the website is ghastly? (Think of neon green text on a yellow and purple background) You haven’t exited a website faster than that, have you? While creating a basic outline for your website, you must choose the right theme. There are hundreds of pre-made templates available in the WordPress library, and if you wish to create your theme from scratch, WordPress has tools for that as well! Trying out different themes and making sure that they work well for your website and its content is a must.

GSG Pro Tip: While trying out a theme, make sure you send the draft around for feedback from real users before making it live.

Example of a poorly designed WordPress theme (Source)

Theme Selection Checklist:

Responsive Design: Works on all devices (mobile, tablet, desktop)
Loading Speed: Lightweight and optimized for performance
SEO-Friendly: Clean code structure and proper heading hierarchy
Customization Options: Easy to modify without coding
Regular Updates: Active developer support and security patches
Plugin Compatibility: Works with essential WordPress plugins

2. Having Unoptimized Media

Every content expert will swear by the importance of optimizing all the media on your WordPress website. This includes videos, images, GIFs, and other multimedia. The goal of optimizing your WordPress site is to make the site load faster. Heavy file sizes, long videos, and hard-to-load image formats do nothing but slow your website down. There are various software and sites that help you reduce file size, and guide you on how to optimize your media. Your goal should be that your site loads speedily for people across different devices, networks, and locations.

GSG Pro Tip: Use WordPress plugins like Smush or ShortPixel to automatically compress images without quality loss. Set maximum dimensions for uploaded images in WordPress settings.

Media Optimization Best Practices:

Image Compression: Reduce file sizes by 60-80% without visible quality loss
Proper Formats: Use WebP for images, MP4 for videos
Lazy Loading: Implement lazy loading for images below the fold
CDN Usage: Use Content Delivery Networks for faster media delivery
Dimensions: Resize images to exact display dimensions needed

3. Not Conducting SEO Audits

Warning: Without regular SEO audits, you’re essentially flying blind in search rankings. Competitors who audit regularly will consistently outperform you.

SEO is the new way to get noticed. Terms like organic search, rankings, keywords, and backlinking are the talk of the town. Creating a WordPress site and not incorporating SEO into it is the biggest mistake you can make. Not paying attention to the technical aspects of SEO and search engine visibility through an SEO Audit can greatly harm your site’s visibility and your brand’s growth. As per definition, an SEO Audit “looks at the technical infrastructure of your website”. Regular SEO audits can help you optimize content, backlinks, and other aspects of your website to boost visibility and relevance.

Components of a comprehensive SEO audit — Key components of a comprehensive SEO audit (Source)

GSG Pro Tip: Conduct monthly mini-audits for critical issues and comprehensive quarterly audits. Use tools like Ahrefs, SEMrush, or Screaming Frog for thorough analysis.

Essential SEO Audit Areas:

Technical SEO: Site speed, mobile-friendliness, crawlability
On-Page SEO: Title tags, meta descriptions, header structure
Content Quality: Relevance, depth, keyword optimization
Backlink Profile: Quality and quantity of incoming links
User Experience: Navigation, readability, engagement metrics

4. Not Integrating Analytics

Google Analytics is a powerful tool that helps you track website performance, outreach, and audience metrics. This information can be used to create better strategies, modify content, and target audience segments in favorable locations and demographics. Not integrating analytics can help you identify traffic sources and sales conversions through your website. Many simple guides help you integrate Google Analytics on your WordPress site and track audience metrics (with and without a plugin).

Google Analytics dashboard interface — Example of a Google Analytics dashboard for WordPress site tracking (Source)

GSG Pro Tip: Install Google Analytics via Google Tag Manager for more flexibility and easier future updates. Create custom dashboards for quick performance monitoring.

Key Analytics Metrics to Track:

Metric Category	What to Track	Why It Matters
Audience	Demographics, location, device usage	Understand who visits your site and how
Acquisition	Traffic sources, channels, campaigns	Identify what drives visitors to your site
Behavior	Page views, session duration, bounce rate	Measure engagement and content effectiveness
Conversions	Goals, e-commerce, form submissions	Track business objectives and ROI

5. Paying More Than Needed

To launch your website, you need to purchase a domain name and a web hosting service. Various domain registrars often create a sense of urgency and disproportionately compel you into buying a domain plan for more than what is needed. For example, various add-ons come with different domain plans. At the start, you might feel the need to pay for all of these add-ons, but this is simply clever marketing. It is very important to list exactly what you’ll need to launch your site (as well as in the next few months), and sticking to this list will help you save quite a lot of money. Plans on WordPress come at different prices, with different features, but keep in mind exactly what your site needs.

Comparison of different WordPress hosting plans and pricing (Source)

GSG Pro Tip: Start with basic hosting and scale as your traffic grows. Many hosting providers offer free migration services when upgrading, so don’t overpay initially.

Cost-Saving Strategies for WordPress:

Annual Billing: Usually 15-30% cheaper than monthly payments
Bundle Services: Look for domain + hosting packages
Avoid Unnecessary Add-ons: Private registration, premium DNS often unnecessary
Use Free Alternatives: Many free plugins match premium features
Black Friday/Cyber Monday: Best time for hosting deals

6. Ignoring Updates

Warning: Unupdated WordPress installations are prime targets for hackers. Security vulnerabilities in outdated versions are publicly documented and easily exploited.

The good part? WordPress keeps reminding you of the latest updates and features. The bad part? You probably ignore them all. Ignoring updates can badly affect the performance of your site, and you’ll miss out on the latest tools and features on WordPress as well! Enable notifications that remind you every time there’s an update – these updates only take a few minutes each time, and come with bug fixes as well!

GSG Pro Tip: Every time there’s an update, make sure to back up all your progress before proceeding! Use plugins like UpdraftPlus for automated backups.

Update Management Best Practices:

Staging First: Test updates on a staging site before production
Regular Schedule: Set a weekly or bi-weekly update routine
Plugin Audit: Remove unused plugins to reduce update workload
Update Order: Update plugins first, then themes, then WordPress core
Monitor After Updates: Check site functionality post-update

7. Not Having a Contact Form

A big mistake, but a common one. A contact form enables users and potential customers to reach out to you! You can address any issues, questions, or ever collaboration opportunities through a contact form! This form doesn’t need to belong and elaborate and heavily designed, just a few basic information fields (name, number, email, a space for doubts/feedback) would work just fine.

GSG Pro Tip: Once you have a contact form, make sure you respond regularly to the responses sent through it! Set up email notifications and establish a response time policy.

WordPress Optimization Checklist Summary

Area	Action Required	Frequency	Tools/Plugins
Theme Optimization	Choose responsive, lightweight theme	Initial setup, annual review	Theme checkers, speed tests
Media Optimization	Compress images, use proper formats	Every upload, monthly audit	Smush, ShortPixel, Imagify
SEO Management	Regular audits, keyword optimization	Monthly mini-audits, quarterly full	Yoast SEO, Rank Math, Ahrefs
Analytics	Install and monitor key metrics	Weekly review, monthly reports	Google Analytics, MonsterInsights
Cost Management	Review subscriptions, eliminate waste	Quarterly review	Budget trackers, alternative research
Update Management	Regular updates with backups	Weekly/bi-weekly	UpdraftPlus, ManageWP
Contact Management	Maintain functional contact form	Continuous	Contact Form 7, WPForms

Conclusion: Building a Robust WordPress Foundation

To sum up, “Nothing can go wrong with my WordPress site” is a lie. These mistakes are common ones, but keeping in mind all these points and working on your WordPress site from time to time is sure to show great results. Various online communities interact and share lots of useful information on building the right WordPress sites, so make sure to check them out!

GSG Pro Tip: Create a monthly WordPress maintenance checklist based on these 7 areas. Consistent small optimizations prevent major issues and keep your site performing optimally.