Godaddy and WordPress: What’s the Difference?
WordPress is one of the most popular and most used websites platforms around today. Much like its namesake, the content management system is a versatile tool that can be used for just about any kind of site or blog you can think of. Thanks to its open source nature, it’s extremely easy to set up and customize to your specific needs and requirements. If you’re looking for a free and easy way to create a professional-looking website, then WordPress is the perfect solution.
Features
As we mentioned above, WordPress is a very versatile and popular content management system, but it is also quite capable. Not only can it be used to create full-fledged websites, but it can also be employed to build eCommerce stores, landing pages, or even blogs. If you’re looking for a free and easy solution for a blog, then WordPress is the obvious choice since it already has all the required features you need to get started. Most blogging platforms will ask you to pay for various features, like custom domain names, advanced SEO features, etc, but since WordPress is free, you get everything you need out of the box.
Interface
WordPress’ clean and modern interface has been a great success and has helped lead to its massive popularity. Whether you’re a seasoned web professional or a complete novice, WordPress is very intuitive and simple to use, especially for those who have never used a content management system before. Like the name suggests, WordPress is a breeze to set up, and it requires very little effort to get the basic functionality you need to start a blog or website. In the following sections, we will discuss some of the basics of using WordPress and how to get the most out of this content management system.
Getting Started
To get started with WordPress, all you need is a static domain name and you’re good to go. Assuming you have a hosting plan with a Cpanel account, you can install WordPress in just a few minutes by following the on-screen instructions. Once you have installed WordPress, you will see a configuration page where you can enter the site’s general information like name, description, and keywords. From there, you can choose your favorite theme among the thousands available in the WordPress repository. Let’s assume you’ve opted for the twentyfourteen theme since it is sleek, simple, and fairly easy to customize. Once you’ve made this choice, you’ll be taken to a complete customization page where you can further edit the theme’s appearance.
WordPress comes with a variety of shortcodes that can be used to build out your site quickly and easily. These shortcodes can be integrated with specific service providers to form complex marketing or sales strategies. For example, you can use these shortcodes to integrate Google Maps, Facebook reviews, or WooCommerce to create a fully-functional eCommerce store.
Username & Password
To log in to your WordPress site, you will need to create a username and password. The username should reflect your blog or website’s name, and the password should be something you can remember but that is also easy to type. Since you’ll be adding this password often, make sure you write it down somewhere safe and easy to find. In the following sections, we will discuss some security best practices you should adhere to when using WordPress.
Strong Passwords
If you’re using WordPress to power a blog or website, then you’re going to have to come up with a password policy for your site. This policy should dictate how strong the passwords have to be in order to match the security requirements of your blog or website. Typically, the stronger the password, the longer it has to be in order to be considered strong. For example, a minimum of eight characters that are mixed case, contain numbers, and have at least one symbol is required to be considered strong. While it would be considered extreme to lock the strength of your passwords down to this level, doing so will help prevent brute force attacks from hackers who are trying to gain unauthorized access to your site.
Two Step Authentication
One of the great things about WordPress is that it comes with two-step authentication. What this means is that whenever you log in to your WordPress site, you will need to provide a password as well as authenticate with a second piece of information, like a security code sent to your phone. This second factor of verification adds an extra layer of security to your account and prevents unauthorized access to your site. Since we already established the importance of passwords above, it’s a no-brainer that you should enable two-step authentication on your WordPress account. Doing so is as easy as clicking on the little gear icon in the top right hand corner of your login screen, scrolling to the bottom, and clicking on the ‘Allow two-step verification’ button.
Security Through Heading Tags
In addition to requiring a strong password and enabling two-step authentication, you can further increase the security of your WordPress account by adding heading tags to the meta information of your blog posts and pages. When you add these tags to your content, it will display additional security labels at the top of your content. For maximum security, you should apply the Nofollow tag to all the outgoing links on your site and ensure the Nofollow attribute is set on your links.
Many webmasters and bloggers out there may not be familiar with the term X-Ray, but it’s something you should definitely be aware of. X-Ray is a malware scanning service that allows you to scan your website for malware and potentially harmful content. This content includes things like viruses, trojans, spyware, and other malicious content that may harm or disrupt your visitors’ experience. X-Ray is a great free option for detecting and removing malware from your site.
Database Settings
You may be wondering why we’re talking about databases in this section of the guide, and it’s because WordPress stores a lot of data about your blog or website in the form of rows and columns in a database. Depending on the size of your site and how many people you have using it, this data can add up very quickly. For this reason, it’s important to ensure you have a strong and properly configured database on your site. Luckily, WordPress comes with built-in tools to assist you in configuring and securing your database, like the wp-config.php file that we will now discuss.
Database Collision
Sometimes, two WordPress users will have the same name for their database and username. In these cases, you’re going to have to decide which one you want to keep and which one you want to rename. In an instance like this, you can use the following SQL statement to rename the database and username:
RENAME user & database to new_user_name;
This will allow you to maintain ownership of both your WordPress installations and, as a result, keep all your existing content without any headaches.
Saved Drafts & Blog Posts
Speaking of headaches, one of the most frustrating things about WordPress is that it doesn’t allow you to keep all your content when you rebrand or rename your site. Instead, it will keep all your old drafts and blog posts, and any new content you create will be stored in a scratch space until you decide to publish it. What is a scratch space? It’s essentially a place on your hard drive where WordPress stores content that is not yet ready to be published. While this might not seem like a big deal, if you have a lot of content, this can add up. To prevent yourself from going insane, it’s essential you have a strategy in place for dealing with this issue.
E-mails & Other Communications
Even if you do everything else on your site correctly, if you don’t take the precaution of sending out e-mails to your audience, then you’re leaving open the possibility that your website could be hacked. Since most hacks occur through e-mail compromises, it’s essential you take the time to send out regular e-mails to your audience to keep them up to date on the latest news and events related to your industry. Regular e-mails can also function as a type of content marketing campaign to attract, engage, and retain customers.
Above all else, make sure you secure your WordPress installation and edit the default settings to your needs and requirements. Since WordPress is a popular, free solution out there, it’s important you take the time to secure it and protect your data. Vulnerabilities like these can be incredibly costly — not to mention the damage they might cause to your reputation — so take the time to be mindful of what you’re doing and ensure you’re always protected.