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There is a lot that goes into building a website. If you haven’t done it before or even if you have, it can be easy to forget some important steps. Web development continues to change, and WordPress creates different features to keep up. Here are the important things to include in the development of your WordPress site in 2020.

Backup and secure your site

This might not seem like the first thing you should check off on a list of WordPress essentials, but it really is. Technology is not perfect. Computers can crash. Servers can become corrupted.  You need to have all your work backed up from the very beginning.  WordPress has many different backup systems available, some free and some paid.  Ask your web developer which one is best for you.

As soon as you create your website, you need to have a strong password to keep it safe. You can also have a firewall set up to make it is even more secure.  Web development companies can also help with this. Only the people who absolutely need to, should have access to the website’s admin credentials – especially once it is up and running where anyone can see it.

Set up email and social media

You can send and receive emails right from your WordPress site’s forms, which is great. However, this is a feature that is commonly problematic when initially set up. Make sure to talk to your web designer about troubleshooting any email errors before your site goes live. While you are at it, check the links to all your social media accounts to make sure those are working as well.

Set up analytics

Once your website is live, you want to know who is visiting it and what they’re doing while they are there. WordPress links easily with Google Analytics so you can see the data on where people are coming to your site from, when they leave, and more. You also need to make sure to include search engine optimization, or SEO, in your website on a page by page basis. This assures that your website will appear high in the search results on Google and other search engines. WordPress has SEO features and additional plugins you can get to track SEO.

Double-check everything

There are all a lot of things to check before calling a website complete, some of which we’ve talked about, and some we haven’t.  Here’s a complete list:

• Backup your website
• Secure the site with password and firewall
• Link social media accounts
• Set up Google Analytics
• Install SEO tracker
• Check website for errors
• Assure that all forms and links work correctly
• Check all videos, pictures, and graphics
• Make sure the website is mobile-friendly
• If you are selling products through your site, check that all aspects of shopping work
• Run a performance test