Blogging allows you to regularly add new, relevant content to your website. This can help attract more visitors and keep them engaged, which in turn can improve your search engine rankings.
Knowing where to begin if you are new to WordPress can be challenging. That’s why I’ve created this guide to help you through the process of creating your first professional blog post.
Follow these basic steps for writing a blog post on WordPress:
1. Create a new post
First, log in to your WordPress administrator area and select “Posts” from the menu panel on the left. Then, click “Add New.”
2. Add content
In the post editor, you can begin creating your blog post. Give your post a title and start writing your post in the editing space provided. You can add headings, paragraphs, lists, images, videos, audio, and links to your post.
Here are two tips for writing effective blog titles:
- Use keywords: Including relevant keywords in your title can help your post rank higher in search engine results. However, make sure that the keywords are incorporated naturally and that your title still makes sense.
Keep it short: Aim to keep your title short and to the point. In general, titles that are less than 10 words long tend to perform best.
Add categories
Adding categories to a WordPress blog post is an effective way to organize and categorize your content for better navigation and search engine optimization. Categories help users to find similar content on your site and make it easier for search engines to understand the topics covered in your posts.
Look for the “Categories” section in the right-side panel. You can either select existing categories from the list or create a new one by clicking on the “Add New Category” link. It’s important to choose categories that accurately describe the content of your post, as this will help users find the information they are looking for and improve the overall user experience on your site.
Add tags
Adding tags to a WordPress blog post is another way to organize and categorize your content to help users and search engines better understand the topics covered in your posts. Tags are keywords or phrases that describe the specific details or topics discussed in a post.
Look for the “Tags” section in the right-side panel. You can either select existing tags from the list or create a new one by typing it into the “Add New Tag” field.
It’s essential to choose relevant and specific tags to your post’s content. Keep in mind that too many irrelevant tags can hurt your search engine optimization efforts, so be careful to only use tags that are truly relevant to your content. Keeping track of tags and ensuring they are organised and properly used can also be quite time-consuming and require ongoing maintenance. I would advise against using tags unless you know what you are doing.
Add a featured image
Adding a featured image to a WordPress blog post is a simple and important step in creating visually appealing content.
Look for the “Featured Image” option in the right-side panel. Click on it and you will be able to upload an image from your computer or select one from your media library. Once you have selected your image, click on the “Set Featured Image” button to assign it to your post.
3. Preview the post
Once you’re done, you can preview your post to see how it will look on your website.
Select the “Preview” button in the top right corner, then click “Preview in new tab.”
4. Publish the post
When you’re ready to publish your post, click the “Publish” button.
