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Playbooks

WordPress launchpad

The shorter path for people who already have WordPress running. Theme, caching, the plugins worth having, backups and a staging site.

You end up withA WordPress site that is fast, backed up and safe to change
Written forSomeone whose WordPress is already installed and wants it set up properly
Steps6 of 6 written, about 58 minutes
  1. 1
    Logging in to WordPress for the first time

    “I have WordPress installed. Where do I log in and what should I change first? Cover finding wp-admin, the settings worth changing on day one (site title, permalinks, timezone, discussion), and the ones to leave alone.”

    8 min read
  2. 2
    Choosing and installing a theme

    “How do I pick and install a WordPress theme without regretting it in six months? Cover free against paid, why a page builder locks you in, how to install and preview safely, and the performance cost of a heavy theme.”

    10 min read
  3. 3
    Setting up LiteSpeed Cache

    “How do I set up LiteSpeed Cache on my WordPress site, and what settings actually matter? Explain what caching does, the settings that give most of the speed improvement, which ones break sites, and how to test whether it is working.”

    10 min read
  4. 4
    The WordPress plugins worth installing, and the ones that are not

    “Which WordPress plugins do I actually need? Be opinionated: name the small number worth having for security, SEO, forms and backups, explain what each one is for, and say plainly why installing thirty plugins is how sites get slow and broken.”

    9 min read
  5. 5
    Backing up and restoring a WordPress site

    “How do I back up my WordPress site and, more importantly, restore it? Cover what is included on the hosting, how to take your own copy of files and database, and walk through an actual restore, because a backup nobody has tested is not a backup.”

    11 min read
  6. 6
    Using a staging site safely

    “How do I test a change without breaking my live site? Explain what a staging site is, how to create one, what does and does not copy back when you push changes live, and the trap of editing both copies at once.”

    10 min read

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