Blog Setup: 40 Practical Tips

All the tips are actually links to previously published articles on Daily Blog Tips. Enjoy!

WordPress Setup

1. Do your homework first and read about others’ mistakes
2. Choose a reliable web host
3. Choose a good domain name
4. If you need inspiration, check this list
5. Register and keep your domain name with a registrar
6. Always install WordPress in the root directory
7. Update your ping list

Themes & Design

8. Choose a professional theme
9. Remove unnecessary information from your theme
10. Add a favicon
11. Place an RSS icon at the end of single posts
12. Create a functional footer for your blog
13. Organize your categories
14. Optimize the “About” page
15. Speed up your site

Check & Validate

16. Make sure your blog works in different browsers
17. Check the load time of your site
18. Test the SEO aspects
19. Validate your website
20. Keep a maintenance checklist

Plugins

21. Install Akismet
22. Install WordPress Database Backup
23. Install Subscribe to Comments but leave it unchecked
24. Install Chunk URLs
25. Install Related Enteries and consider setting it to 3
26. Install Custom Query String
27. Install Jerome's Keywords
28. Install sig2feed

SEO & Analytics

29. Install Google Sitemap Generator
30. Install Enforce www Preference
31. Optimize your Meta Description Tag
32. Setup an optimal URL structure
33. Make category pages display excerpts
34. Setup any needed 301 Redirects
35. Create a robots.txt file (and here is a collection of different ones)
36. Modify your title tag to be optimal
37. Remove the hyperlink from the single post titles
38. Offer email subscriptions
39. Install the Feedburner Replacement plugin
40. Add the Google Analytics plugin and track your stats

Max Pool is a software engineer by day – aspiring SEO expert by night. More ideas can be found at his blog codesqueeze.com.