Time is money, so why waste it getting frustrated with your WordPress website? There’s a stack load of weird and wonderful digital tools right at your fingertips that make it easy to edit and update your site. And as the great Gladys Knight once said, “sometimes the best things in life are right in front of you, it just takes some time to see them.”
See how we can fast track that process for you with these tips, templates, tools and plugins…
WordPress vs. HTML
So why choose WordPress for your website over good old classic HTML? We’d be here all day if we really dug into the belly of the beast. Of course, there are a number of factors at play here, like customisations, downloadables, subscriptions and all that jazz.
But time is of the essence, and with the right tools at your disposal, you could build a single page website in as little as 2 to 8 days. Whereas it may take 4 to 6 weeks to code a simple HTML website from scratch, and that’s for an experienced developer!
So, if you’re choosing to build your site in WordPress then you’re already on the right track. Now about those tools…
Enable distraction Free Writing mode
Do you write your own blogs? Then you’ll know that unnecessary distractions can knock your flow right off and elongate the process. Enter Distraction Free Writing mode – the simple yet highly effective way of hiding unnecessary items that plague productivity.
Activate it by clicking on the 'Toggle Full Screen' button from the toolbar in the Visual Editor, or simply hold Alt+Shift+G. A bare-necessities toolbar remains, but when you get typing, even that disappears leaving you and your thoughts to flourish.
Markdown editors hit the mark
Markdown editors are the quick and easy solution for importing text onto your website. Without them, this process can be time consuming and problematic, as many traditional text file formats don’t translate well into HTML.
There are a number of free and paid options out there that let you write offline, protecting you from internet crashes and downtime. Here’s a few different options to sink your teeth into!
Plug in image plugins
Quality visual content can be the essential facelift your website needs to really pop. But what do you do when unnecessarily large image files make your website slower than a snail during a siesta? No need to go around the houses creating new content or manually reducing the image size, you’ll be there all day (or longer)! Fast-track the process using an image optimisation plugin specially made for WordPress.
Say yo to Yoast
Optimising for SEO and improving readability – if you’re not an expert in either field then these can be seriously laborious and difficult tasks. But of course, they’re also essential. So you could go down the rabbit hole yourself, hire someone to do it, or just get Yoast! This plugin makes it super easy to refine your content to rank higher on Google, and write in a way that is simpler for your audience to digest.
Ace your grammar with Grammarly
Ey up, it’s AI again. This nifty little tool is designed to skip that process of writing, redrafting and then rewriting that email again. Grammarly helps you spot grammar and spelling errors more efficiently than traditional software. It also helps you find the right words to sound professional, clear, and convincing.
Tag and categorise in bulk
If you’re like many other WordPress blog writers, you’ll notice that some categories feel too broad, or even too narrow. Think your time could be better spent on other areas of your business than manually re-categorising blogs? You thought right. Instead, select the blog posts you want to amend from your ‘all posts’ page, tap the ‘bulk’ option at the top, and click 'edit'.
Get ready for the time-saving sub-menu of your dreams, where you can re-categorise your posts and add new tags in one fell swoop!
Accio WordPress setup wizard
Building your first WordPress site or installing a new plugin? For almost every scenario there’s a setup wizard. Even if you’re digitally handy, uploading the setup wizard on the side can save a lot of time, overcoming any hurdles you find to streamline the process and get you back to doing what you do best!
Choose Fasthosts, every time
We know a thing or two about moving with the times, which is why our super-fast, ultra flexible WordPress hosting packages outperform the rest – complete with 24/7 support and built-in security. We’ll even help you pick the perfect theme by pre-installing one for you, or you can choose from over 10,000 customisable options – neat!
Get in touch today to see why there’s no place like Fasthosts for your WordPress website. Give us a call on 0800 0612 153 or message via live chat.
