WordPress blogging has become popular in today’s tech-savvy world with more digital nomads opting to pursue it. Since WordPress is among the best content management systems, it is convenient and straightforward to use it as a blogging tool. As a result, more people are choosing to pursue WordPress blogging rather than regular 9-to-5 jobs. Nonetheless, running a WordPress blog involves a lot more effort than merely creating fantastic content.
Security Plugins
Security remains one of the most pertinent issues as far as running WordPress blogs is concerned. You must ensure that your site has a reliable security plugin, and iThemes Security is among the best of its kind. It is easy to set up and use and lets you make several tweaks with one simple click, plugging any security holes, strengthening your site against specific types of attacks, and protecting user credentials.
The plugin comes with an array of other security features, which allow you to protect your blog even further. iThemes Security scans changed files on your blogs, allows banning hosts and IP addresses, and supports two-factor authentication. It also undertakes 404-error detection besides whitelisting your known IP addresses. Besides, the plugin carries out database backups and can also help you generate secure passwords.
Backup Plugins
This is arguably one of the essential types of plugins that every WordPress administrator must install on his/her website. Backup plugins such as BackupBuddy come in handy whenever you undertake routine tasks such as migrating your site to a new server. These plugins enable you to run full backups before you import your website onto the new server.
Backup plugins guarantee easy website migration and give you free cloud storage of up to 1GB. They also support an array of cloud storage services, including Amazon S3 and Dropbox. Besides this, the plugins allow you to set up backup schedules and to undertake full database backups without worrying about data loss. When using backup plugins, you have the option of excluding any files that you do not want to back up.
WordPress Redirection Plugins
Such plugin is a must-have for WordPress users who want to manage their URL redirects efficiently. These plugins enable you to create conditional redirects, keep track of 404 errors, and generally tidy up any loose ends on your site. With the plugins, all errors get logged thus making it easy for you to conveniently export your redirects whenever it’s necessary.
When using redirection plugins, it is advisable to add redirects manually. If you choose the plugin option, you must disable log tracking in the settings of your WordPress site. This will minimize the load on your server. Apart from helping you add 301 redirects easily, redirection plugins add the redirects automatically whenever you make permalink changes.
Blog Optimization Plugins
The online visibility of your WordPress website depends on how you optimize it for search engines. Keep in mind that there are several search engines that WordPress does not support by default. You can improve your site by undertaking technical tweaks through the addition of metadata and canonical links.
All-in-One SEO Pack is a useful WordPress plugin that can help you optimize your site for search engines. It’s great for both beginners and advanced users, as it can work just out of the box but also has extensive fine-tuning capabilities.
All-in-One SEO Pack also has advanced URL support and comes with an inbuilt XML sitemap generator. This WordPress optimization plugin allows you to specify how major search engines index specific post types. It also lets you add social metadata besides adding on-page metadata to your WordPress pages/posts.
Personal VPNs
To enjoy blogger’s life to the fullest, you must be location-independent. One of the necessities that you need is a personal Virtual Private Network (VPN), find more information about it here. Obviously, you won’t be using your secure home network all the time when accessing your site. The use of public Wi-Fi hotspots puts you at risk since these networks are generally known to be vulnerable to security breaches.
When you use public Wi-Fi hotspots without a VPN, hackers can capture your data and read it. Recently, it was revealed that Internet service providers sell clients’ browsing history to advertisers and other commercial entities. VPNs create an encrypted tunnel for your Internet traffic to protect your data from misuse.
VPNs also allow you to access any websites, which is always important but becomes especially relevant whenever you are travelling. Therefore, you can still research and update your blog when visiting countries that have Internet monitoring and censorship. A VPN service allows you to be a WordPress digital nomad in every sense of the phrase.
Conclusion
It takes more than exciting content to make your WordPress site great. Any serious WordPress blogger out there needs the tools above to ensure that his/her website is secure and that it functions optimally. The plugins will also improve your productivity, enabling you to succeed in your new-found career.