Starting A WordPress Blog: Permalinks, Askimet And User Name

One of the great things about WordPress is that it works right out of the box. As soon as you finish the basic installation you’re able to start blogging and publishing your content to the web without configuring your setup. If you want a blog with greater stability and search engine optimization, however, here are a few steps to take before you begin blogging.

• Change Your Permalinks Structure – Located under the ‘Settings’ tab, Permalinks defines how your blog posts URL will look. The default setting simply lists your posts by number which is unattractive to both readers and search engines. Change your Permalinks to include the post name – either the ‘Day and Name’ option or ‘Month and Name’ option. You can even create a custom Permalink structure that displays only the post name by inserting ‘/%postname%/‘ into the ‘Custom’ option. This will make it much easier for search engines to find your content based on your post title.
• Activate The Askimet Plugin – The Askimet plugin comes bundled with WordPress and effectively gets rid of comment spam. You’ll first need to activate it within the ‘Plugins’ tab. Then you can set it up by clicking ‘Askimet Configuration,’ also under the ‘Plugins’ tab. You’ll need to enter your WordPress.com API Key, which you get by singing up for a free account on WordPress.com.

• Set Your Display Name – Within the ‘Users’ tab is the option to edit your profile. Here, you’ll want to ensure that all your contact info is correct. You’ll then want to make sure WordPress is displaying your name instead of “Admin” on the posts you publish. The pulldown menu labeled ‘Display Name Publicly As’ will allow you to change your display name to either your nickname, first or last name.