WordPress Website Design and SEO in Los Angeles

Are you using WordPress for your new website? WordPress is an excellent website creation tool, but keep in mind that it isn’t automatically search engine optimized.
WordPress is the most widely used content management system (CMS) in the world – approximately half of websites that utilize a CMS use WordPress. The reason WordPress website design and SEO in Los Angeles is so popular is because it’s easy to use and can be customized to a great extent due to the numerous plugins and themes.

WordPress Website Design and SEO

If you’re considering WordPress website design and SEO for your new site, you can easily maximize search engine visibility by utilizing some tips and strategies.

1. WordPress is not an Automatic SEO Solution

Creating your website using WordPress doesn’t make it search engine optimized. The WordPress platform makes incorporating SEO simple, without a lot of coding or difficult customization. Here are a few examples of how WordPress website design and SEO in Los Angeles doesn’t guarantee high rankings:

• WordPress can be slow out of the box, and load time is a significant search factor. You must install a plugin that will provide a caching function, such as WP Super Cache or W3 Total Cache, which will support faster loading times for your website. I personally prefer WP Super Cache.
• Default permalink settings are not automatically optimized in WordPress, so you will need to adjust your site’s permalink structure to make the URLs human-readable. Words and phrases are more search-friendly than random symbols and numbers. Warning: For an existing WordPress website design and SEO, you should not simply change your permalinks. This will change your existing URLs, thus resulting in 404 errors and a significant loss of website traffic and ranking. To change your permalink structure on an existing WordPress site, make sure you take the time to set up proper 301 redirects first.
• WordPress automatically creates external links by opening them in the same window. This is because if a user clicks a link on your website, they navigate off your page which can result in the loss of a new user or customer.
• An XML sitemap is essential for search engine optimization, which WordPress doesn’t create by default.

These points are just some of the reasons why WordPress website design and SEO in Los Angeles doesn’t automatically integrate SEO. So what exactly makes your website search engine optimized? Read on.

2. Your Theme Doesn’t Dictate Proper Search Engine Optimization

One of the most convenient aspects of WordPress website design and SEO in Los Angeles is the wide variety of available themes to choose from. Within minutes, a brand new website can look professional because of the free themes provided by WordPress.

Many of these free themes claim to be search engine optimized, which is not completely true. A fully search engine optimized website needs one very important factor when it comes to good ranking: high-quality content aimed at your target users.

Here are some things to look for in a WordPress theme that claims to be search engine optimized:

• Page Speed: Speed is a critical factor for search success. Focus on finding a quick-loading theme.
• Lightweight Code: One sign of an amateur theme is complicated code. Unnecessary coding can slow a site down and reduce its SEO capabilities. Focus on finding a trusted theme with streamlined code, even if it isn’t free.
• HTML5: Most new themes are developed in HTML5, which is best for SEO. Some themes feature multiple H1 tags on a page, which isn’t recommended.
• Responsive: With Google’s mobile algorithm, it’s essential that your site be mobile-optimized. Find a theme with built-in responsive capabilities.

 

3. An SEO Plugin Doesn’t Make A Website Optimized

So you’ve downloaded an SEO plugin for your WordPress website design-this means your website is search engine optimized right? Wrong! A plugin simply enables you to optimize your website, but it definitely doesn’t do the optimizing for you.
The point of a plugin is to allow you to easily customize and modify certain aspects of your website. With a plugin, you’re able to tell it what to do without having to access codes or have professional web development skills.

For example, an SEO plugin might claim to optimize the meta descriptions on your website, but it’s up to you to physically write those meta descriptions.
There are many SEO plugins to choose from, but you really only need one plugin that will get the job done.

4. Optimize Your Site For Search

Search engine optimization isn’t just about picking the right theme or installing the best plugin. This is just the beginning of a process that involves you taking control of your own website and page content.
Here are a few recommendations for any new WordPress website design and SEO in Los Angeles:

• Unique Content: The most important thing you can do for your website is to create unique content on every page. Don’t simply copy and paste content from other websites; focus on what makes your website unique for your specific target audience. Once the pages of your website are search engine optimized, continue adding more content regularly. Blogs, videos, tutorials, and articles are a few examples of content that can get indexed, ranked, and eventually attract more traffic.
• Learn Everything You Can About SEO: This is a bit obvious, but the more you understand about the way SEO works, the better you’ll be able to apply it correctly and get the results you want.
• Keep Your Plugins Limited: Plugins can be very helpful for WordPress website design and SEO in Los Angeles, but they can add a lot of weight to the site and slow down loading time. Try to stick to a handful of plugins that are necessary, because some plugins load scripts, styles, database queries, and other complex operations that slow down the website. If you’re not sure what your plugin is doing, it may be best to simply remove it or find one that is more lightweight for the same purpose.

Conclusion
WordPress website design and SEO in Los Angeles can be tricky if you don’t know much about search engine optimization. Simply using WordPress doesn’t mean your website will get indexed and ranked. It’s up to you to understand the basics of SEO, which will allow you to choose the best plugins for your website’s purposes and start creating great content for your users!