How to Better Manage Automatic WordPress Updates

Are you looking for a way to automatically manage WordPress updates?

Updates are important for the security and stability of your WordPress site.

In this article, we will show you how to better manage automatic WordPress updates.

Why Do You Need Better Automatic Updates in WordPress?

Keeping your WordPress website updated is extremely important. The same goes for all plugins and themes installed on your website. You need to install updates for WordPress core, themes, and plugins to get new features and fixes.

Learn more in our guide on why you should always use the latest version of WordPress.

WordPress will automatically update itself when a security or minor release is available. You can also enable automatic updates for major releases, as well as plugins and themes.

However, you may have noticed that some of them are updated more frequently than others. A lot of popular plugins are updated almost weekly.

Some users find it a bit annoying that whenever they log in there are new updates available for WordPress core, one or more plugins, or their theme. It becomes even more time-consuming when you manage multiple WordPress sites.

That’s why many users want to have WordPress automatically install updates for WordPress core, trusted plugins, and themes. But while WordPress now lets you do this without a plugin, you still don’t have full control over your auto-updates.

Let’s take a look at how you can take total control of WordPress and minimize the time spent on installing updates.

Setting Up Easy Updates Manager

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Easy Updates Manager plugin. This plugin gives you complete control over customizing your updates and also keeps logs of what is updated and when.

For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you need to visit Dashboard » Updates Options page to set up the plugin.

This page provides you quick access to turn on or off updates for WordPress core, plugins, themes, and translations. The default settings here will work well for most websites.

We strongly recommend that you never turn off updates for WordPress core, plugins, or themes. It will seriously compromise your site’s security and health.

Setting Up Automatic Updates for WordPress, Plugins, and Themes

Easy Updates Manager allows you to quickly enable automatic updates for WordPress core, plugins, and themes from the Dashboard » Updates options page. Simply click on the blue ‘Auto update everything’ button in the ‘Quick configuration actions’ section.

This plugin also allows you to selectively turn on automatic updates for certain plugins or themes. If you would like to selectively turn on automatic updates, then click the ‘Choose per plugin’ and ‘Choose per theme’ buttons.

Next, we’ll show you how to select which plugins and themes are updated automatically.

Setting Up Automatic Updates for Select Plugins and Themes

If you selected to individually enable automatic updates for a few plugins, then you need to switch to the ‘Plugins’ tab on the Dashboard » Updates options page.

Here you will see a list of all plugins installed on your WordPress site. To automatically update a certain plugin, simply click the ‘On’ button under ‘Automatic updates’.

When you switch to the ‘Themes’ tab, you will see a list of themes installed on your site.

You need to click the ‘On’ button under ‘Automatic updates’ for those themes that you want to be updated automatically.

Rolling Back to a Previous Version of a Plugin or Theme

Plugin and theme incompatibilities are the major reason why some users are hesitant when it comes to updating. Even though most good developers thoroughly test their plugins, there can still be bugs that can cause your site to break.

The first step you should take to protect your website is to install a WordPress backup solution. This will let you restore your entire website if something goes wrong.

However, restoring your WordPress site from a backup can be a lot of work. If you know which plugin or theme update caused the problem, then it’s easier just to roll back that one update.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the WP Rollback plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, go back to the plugins page on your WordPress site. You will notice a new Rollback option below each plugin installed on your site.

Clicking on the ‘Rollback’ link will allow you to roll back your plugin to any previous version you want. It can also roll back theme updates.

For detailed, step-by-step instructions, see our guide on how to rollback WordPress plugins.

We hope this article helped you find a better way to manage automatic WordPress updates on your site. You may also want to learn how to increase your blog traffic, or see our list of 40 useful tools to manage and grow your WordPress blog.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Better Manage Automatic WordPress Updates first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Set Up a Media Kit Page in WordPress

Are you looking to set up a media kit or press kit page on your website?

A media kit provides information and media files about your business. It makes it easy for bloggers and journalists to write about your business and provides potential clients and advertisers with the statistics they need to make a decision.

In this article, we’ll show you how to set up a media kit page in WordPress.

Why Set Up a Media Kit Page in WordPress?

A media kit, or press kit, is a page on your WordPress website that offers everything that busy journalists need to write about your business. It can also offer statistics about your reach and audience for potential clients and advertisers.

A press kit page normally includes company facts and news, press releases, and details about your team. It also offers high-resolution logos and photos, guidelines about your branding, and a way for writers to contact you with further questions.

If you sell advertising or sponsored blog posts, then your media kit should also clearly detail what you offer, as well as your traffic statistics, social media following, audience demographics, and any other data that will make your site more appealing to advertisers.

You can learn more about monetizing your website in our guide on how to make money online blogging with WordPress.

A good example is the Awesome Motive Media Kit page. It provides writers with team photos, logos, brand colors, writing guidelines, and quotes. It also provides a link where the media can get in touch with the PR team when they have further questions about our brands.

With that being said, let’s take a look at how to easily set up a media kit page in WordPress.

Creating a Media Kit Page in WordPress

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the free Publisher Media Kit plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

On activation, the plugin creates a new draft page called ‘Media Kit’. This page is made up of beautifully designed block patterns that are easy to customize and look great out of the box.

You need to navigate to Pages » All Pages and edit the ‘Media Kit’ page by clicking its title or the ‘Edit’ link below.

You will now see the draft media kit page. The block patterns contain placeholder text that you can easily customize within the WordPress block editor.

Each block contains information that is typically found in media kits. For most websites, you simply need to click on the block and replace the sample content with your own.

You can find the Publisher Media Kit block patterns by clicking the ‘+ Block Inserter’ icon at the top of the page.

After that, you need to click the ‘Patterns’ tab and select ‘Publisher Media Kit’ from the drop-down menu. Now you can drag the block patterns onto your post or page.

This lets you add the block patterns back to the Media Kit if you delete them, or use them in other posts and pages.

If you haven’t used block patterns before, then you might like to check out our beginner’s guide on how to use WordPress block patterns.

Customizing Your Media Kit Page

Now you can go through the draft media kit page and customize it. You should replace the placeholder text with actual information about your business. You can delete any blocks that you don’t need, add additional blocks, and rearrange their order.

Customizing the Media Kit Cover

The media kit starts with a full-width cover block. You will need to replace the placeholder text with a brief overview of your business that journalists can use as a boilerplate.

You should also replace the background image with one relevant to your business.

Simply click near the edges of the rectangle and select ‘Replace’ from the toolbar. You can then choose an image from the Media Library, upload a new one, or use the page’s featured image.

You need to add a link to the ‘Contact Us’ button, so it will take visitors to your contact form when it is clicked. You might want to create a custom form that sends media inquiries straight to your public relations person or team. We recommend using a free plugin like WPForms for that.

Finally, you can change the height of the block by dragging the circle at the bottom.

Customizing Audience Profiles

The Audience Profiles block displays the ages of your average female and male visitors, a statistic potential advertisers like to know. You need to edit the ages to match your audience.

Tip: If you can’t see the images in the circles, then you have probably installed WordPress in a folder. You need to click inside the circle and add your site address like https://example.com/folder at the beginning of the ‘Current media URL’ field.

You can learn how to discover the ages, gender, and much more about your audience in our guide on how to track website visitors to your WordPress site.

The screenshot above is from our MonsterInsights analytics dashboard. It’s a free plugin that you can use to get similar stats about your site.

Customizing Website Statistics

The next section displays statistics about your reach, including your website traffic and social media following. This section will also help potential advertisers make a decision.

Simply click on the text to update the numbers with your own figures.

You might also want to add links to ‘Facebook Followers’, ‘Twitter Followers’, and ‘Instagram Followers’ if you haven’t already added social media icons to your WordPress menus.

Customizing the Why Choose Section

In the next section, you can outline the unique value your business can provide to potential clients and advertisers. Here you will briefly explain why your visitors should choose your business over your competitors.

Simply click on the text to edit it. You can swap out the images and add or remove columns as needed. Don’t forget to add a link to the ‘Contact Us’ button as you did earlier.

Customizing Advertising Information

The next three blocks let potential advertisers know what you are offering and how much it costs. Alternatively, you can edit them to show other services you are offering. You can delete any block that you don’t need.

First, you’ll see the Ad Specs block. By default, this block has three tabs at the top to let your visitors easily find the type of ads or services that they are interested in. Simply click on the text to edit it.

After that, you will find the Our Packages block.

Here you can list the benefits and costs of any package deals you are offering.

The third block is the Our Rates block. By default, it comes with two tabs where you can display your standard and sponsorship pricing.

You can easily add or remove tabs and customize the content.

Customizing the ‘Still Questions’ Block

Finally, if your visitors still have questions after reading your media kit, then they will need a way to contact you. That’s the purpose of the Still Questions block.

Simply add a link to the ‘Contact Us’ button so that visitors will be taken to your contact form when they click it.

Adding Additional Information and Media

Now that you’ve customized each blog provided by the Publisher Media Kit plugin, you may wish to add some additional information or media files. You can do this using standard WordPress blocks such as the heading block, paragraph block, and image block.

For example, you’ll want to provide high-resolution images for bloggers and journalists to download and use in their articles. You can either create an image gallery or allow the resources to be downloaded in a zip file.

You should start by including your logos and branding. You’ll also want to provide headshots and brief biographies of key staff members and other team photos. The journalists will value any other quality images you can provide to help them show off your business and services.

Other items you can consider including in a media kit are press releases, news about your company such as acquisitions and new products, a summary of previous media coverage, and case studies that show your effectiveness.

Once your media kit page is finished, don’t forget to click the ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ button at the top of the page to push it live.

Adding the Media Kit to Your Navigation Menu

Once you publish your media kit page, you should add the page to your navigation menu so that it’s easy to find.

Head over to Appearance » Menus in the WordPress admin sidebar and make sure the correct menu is selected at the top of the screen. After that, you should click the ‘View All’ tab under Pages and select the ‘Media Kit’ page.

Now all you need to do is click the ‘Add to Menu’ button and your media kit will be added to the menu. You can drag the menu item up and down to place it where you want in the list.

If you can’t find Appearance » Menus in the admin sidebar, then you are probably using a block theme. To learn how to add menus using the Full Site Editor, see our beginner’s guide on how to add a navigation menu in WordPress.

We hope this tutorial helped you learn how to set up a media kit page in WordPress. You may also want to learn how to create an email newsletter, or check out our list of the best live chat software for small business.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Set Up a Media Kit Page in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Add Tabbed Content in WordPress Posts and Pages

Do you want to divide your posts into tabs to save space and make it easier for users to find what they’re looking for?

Adding tabbed content helps you add more information about your products and services. It also allows users to find all the details in a single place instead of going to a different page.

In this article, we will show you how to add tabbed content to WordPress posts and pages.

When Should You Use Tabbed Content in WordPress?

Using tabs allows you to add more details in a small amount of space or split large chunks of content for better organization and user experience.

Let’s say you have an online store. You can add tabs for product descriptions, reviews, technical specifications, and more. This separation helps provide all the details for your customers in one place and makes the page interactive.

Similarly, you can see tabbed content on WordPress.org plugin pages. The page is divided into different sections using tabs like details, reviews, installation, support, and development information.

Tabbed content helps keep people on your WordPress website. You don’t have to send people to another page to get all the details they need about your products and services.

That said, let’s see how you can add tabbed content to WordPress pages and posts.

Here are the 2 methods we’ll use to get this done:

Adding Tabbed Content Using a Landing Page BuilderAdding Tabbed Content Using a WordPress Plugin

Method 1: Adding Tabbed Content Using a Landing Page Builder

The best way to add tabbed content in WordPress is using a SeedProd. It’s the best WordPress landing page and website builder. SeedProd is beginner-friendly and comes with a drag-and-drop builder, pre-made templates, and multiple customization options.

For this tutorial, we’ll use the SeedProd Pro license because it includes advanced blocks to add tabbed content. There is also a SeedProd Lite version you can use for free.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the SeedProd plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you will be redirected to the SeedProd welcome screen in your WordPress dashboard. Go ahead and enter your license key, which you can find in your SeedProd account area.

Next, you can head to SeedProd » Landing Pages from your WordPress admin panel.

After that, simply click the ‘Create New Landing Page’ button.

From here, SeedProd will show you multiple landing page templates to choose from.

Go ahead and select a template that you’d like to use. Just hover over the template and click the orange tick mark icon.

A popup window will now open where you’ll need to enter a title for your page in the ‘Page Name’ field, and a permalink slug under ‘Page URL.’

After that, simply click the ‘Save and Start Editing the Page’ button.

This will launch the SeedProd drag-and-drop builder. You can now add different blocks to your template and edit existing elements.

To add tabbed content, simply drag the ‘Tabs’ block under the Advanced section and drop it onto the page template.

Next, you can customize the tab block in SeedProd.

For instance, you can click the ‘Add New Item’ button to add as many tabs as you want. Plus, there are options to edit the font size, space between text, and alignment for the content in each tab.

Next, you can click on any tab to edit it further and add details.

For instance, you can change the title for each tab, add content, and change the tab icon.

Besides that, SeedProd also provides advanced customization options.

Simply click the ‘Advanced’ tab in the menu on your left. Here, you can change the tab layout, typography, color, background color, borders, and more.

When you’ve made changes to the tab block and customized your landing page, don’t forget to click the green ‘Save’ button at the top.

After that, you can head to the ‘Page Settings’ tab.

Next, you can click the ‘Page Status’ toggle and change the status from Draft to Publish.

You can click the ‘Save’ button to store your changes and close the page builder.

Now, simply visit your website to see the tabbed content WordPress page in action.

Method 2: Adding Tabbed Content Using a WordPress Plugin

If you don’t want to use a landing page builder, then you can use a dedicated WordPress plugin to add tabbed content to your posts and pages.

First, you’ll need to install and activate the Tabs Responsive plugin. For more details, please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Upon activation, you can go to Tabs Responsive » Add New Tabs from your WordPress dashboard and start by entering a name for your tabs.

Next, you can scroll down to add as many tabs as you want by clicking the red ‘Add New Tabs’ button.

Plus, you can edit each tab individually by changing its title, adding a description, using a different tab icon, and editing the icon location.

Besides that, the plugin also offers different ‘Tabs Settings’ in the menu on your right.

For instance, you can choose whether to display tabs title, select different options for title and icon, change icon position, show tabs border, select text color, and more.

When you’ve made the changes, you can now use the tabs in any blog post or page using the shortcode generated by the plugin.

Simply click the ‘Publish’ button.

Next, you can add the tabs on any page or post using the [TABS_R id=130] shortcode. Just make sure to replace the ID number in the shortcode with your tabs ID number.

You can easily find the tab ID and shortcode by going to Tabs Responsive » All tabs and copying the code under the Tabs Shortcode column.

Next, you just need to either add a new post or edit an existing one.

When you’re in the content editor, go ahead and add a shortcode block to enter the shortcode.

After that, you can preview your blog post or page. If everything checks out, you can click the ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ button to save the tabs in your post.

Now, visit your website to see the tabbed content in action.

We hope this article helped you learn how to add tabbed content to WordPress posts and pages. You can also see our guide on WooCommerce made simple and how to choose the best web design software.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Add Tabbed Content in WordPress Posts and Pages first appeared on WPBeginner.

How to Disable WordPress Admin Email Verification Notice

Do you want to disable the admin email verification notice in WordPress?

By default, WordPress displays an admin email verification notice to the site administrators every few months to verify the email they use is still correct. It’s a pseudo-security measure that many site owners feel is unnecessary and annoying.

In this article, we will show you how to disable the admin email verification notice in WordPress.

What is an Admin Email Verification Notice

The admin email verification notice feature was introduced in WordPress 5.3. The purpose of this feature is to show a screen to website administrators every few months that asks them to verify their site email address.

The admin email verification notice ensures that the email address provided by the administrator is accurate and still in use. Having a working email is important to site security and management.

However, originally planned to appear every six months, sometimes the admin email verification notice can be displayed more frequently than necessary.

This can be annoying for users who’re just trying to log in to their WordPress website. Wouldn’t it be great if you could just turn off the admin email verification notice?

Let’s take a look at how to easily disable the admin email verification notice. You can click the links below to jump directly to the method you want to use.

Method 1. Disable Admin Email Verification Notice Using Code (Recommended)

You can easily disable the admin email verification notice by adding a code snippet to your WordPress files. If you haven’t done this before, then take a look at our beginner’s guide on pasting snippets from the web into WordPress.

Generally, you would need to manually add the code to your theme’s function.php file, but it can be a bit tricky since even a minor mistake can bring down your whole website.

This is why we recommend using a code snippet plugin like WPCode to add custom code in WordPress without having to edit your theme’s core files.

First, you need to install and activate the free WPCode plugin. For more instructions, please take a look at our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once the plugin is activated, go to Code Snippets » Add New from your WordPress admin dashboard.

This will take you to the ‘Add Snippet’ page.

As we have to add custom code, simply click on the ‘Use Snippet’ button below the ‘Add  Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ option.

This will take you to the ‘Create Custom Snippet’ page where you can start by entering a title for your code snippet. It can be anything that helps you identify the code.

Next, select the ‘PHP Snippet’ as the ‘Code Type’ from the drop-down menu on the right.

After that, all you have to do is copy and paste the following PHP code snippet in the ‘Code Preview’.

// Disable WordPress Administration Email verification Screen
add_filter( ‘admin_email_check_interval’, ‘__return_false’ );

After that, scroll down to the ‘Insertion’ section and select an insert method.

Now, simply choose the ‘Auto Insert’ option to automatically execute code on your site upon saving the snippet. Make sure to select the location “Admin Only”.

Now, go to the top of the page and toggle the switch from ‘Inactive’ to ‘Active’ in the top right corner and then click the ‘Save Snippet’ button.

Once, you have saved and activated the code snippet, it will be automatically executed on your site.

Now you will no longer see the admin email verification notice.

Method 2. Disable Admin Email Verification Notice Using a Plugin

If you prefer not to add code to your WordPress site, you can always use a plugin.

For this tutorial, we will be using the Make Disable Admin Email Verification Prompt plugin.

The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Make Disable Admin Email Verification Prompt plugin. For more instructions, you can check out our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Once the plugin is activated, simply go to Settings » General from your WordPress admin dashboard.

Now that you’re on the ‘General Settings’ page, scroll down to the bottom.

Here you will find the ‘Disable Admin Email Verification Prompt’ option. Now, simply make sure to check the box beside ‘Disable Admin Email Verification Screen.’

Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button to store your settings.

That’s it! You and your team should not see the admin email verification notice anymore.

We hope this article helped you learn how to disable the admin email verification notice in WordPress. You may also want to see our tutorial on how to disable automatic update email notifications in WordPress, and our comparison of the best email marketing services to grow your website traffic and sales.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post How to Disable WordPress Admin Email Verification Notice first appeared on WPBeginner.

11 Things You Should Do When Inheriting a WordPress Site

If you have just inherited an existing WordPress site, what should you do first?

Whether you’re a business owner who recently acquired a new website or an office assistant who’s inheriting your company’s existing website from another team member, you might be wondering what the most important next steps are.

In this article, we will show you the top things you need to do when inheriting a WordPress site.

What Challenges Could You Face When Inheriting a Site?

Inheriting a new WordPress website brings a lot of challenges.

Whether you’ve acquired it from another business or assigned a company website, getting up to speed with the workflow and familiarizing yourself with WordPress can take time.

Similarly, running a website requires other tools like email marketing software or third-party plugins. When inheriting a website, you should have login credentials to all the software.

Other than that, your newly inherited website might not be secure. One of the best practices is to create a backup and scan your site for threats. This will help highlight areas that could lead to a potential attack and allow you to fix them quickly.

That said, let’s look at the things you should do when inheriting a new WordPress site. You can click the links below to jump ahead to your preferred section:

1. Get All The Passwords

When inheriting a WordPress site, the first thing you must do is gather all the username and password information.

This includes your web hosting password, FTP password, CDN password, domain management password, email marketing service password, and password to all third-party premium plugins or services that the website is using.

We suggest scheduling a video call with the old developer or site owners because they can explain everything in detail.

The best way to manage all your website passwords is by using a password manager. We recommend using LastPass because it works with all your devices and allows storing passwords in a group, sharing them securely, and using stronger passwords.

2. Change All Admin Password and Emails

Once you have received all the passwords, you need to change them.

This ensures that the previous developer or site owner cannot modify anything. Another thing you want to do is update all admin contact emails so only you can reset passwords in the future.

You can do this by going to the Users » All Users page in the WordPress admin area and editing all user passwords along with contact details.

Next, you need to change the WordPress site admin email address. WordPress uses it to send important website notifications.

Simply go to the Settings » General page and enter a new email address.

Note: We recommend installing WP Mail SMTP before changing emails to make sure all emails all of the notification emails reach their recipient.

3. Take Notes and Familiarize Yourself

Before making any other site changes, taking notes and familiarizing yourself with the website is vital. If you’re unfamiliar with WordPress, see our beginner guide on what is WordPress.

It is very important that you understand the importance and functionality of each WordPress plugin used on the website.

You would also want to review theme settings and the widgets you use.

You can take notes of different functionalities, features you would like to change, and more.

Note: Please write all these notes down in Google Docs, Dropbox Paper, or somewhere else so you won’t lose them.

This information will help you understand everything. If you need help understanding something, then you can try contacting the previous owner or developer.

4. Setup an Automated Backup Solution

Backups are your first layer of defense against any online mishap. The previous site owner may have their own backup plugins set up, which may be storing backup files in one of their remote storage accounts.

You would want to set up your own backups. There are plenty of excellent WordPress backup plugins that you can choose from.

You need to make sure that you set up your backups on a remote location like Google Drive, Dropbox, etc.

You also need to create a complete WordPress backup before making further changes to your website. This would help you revert your website in case anything goes wrong.

5. Update User Roles and Permissions

If you are a developer working on a website, then you’ll need to work with your client to assign user roles and permissions to their team.

Your goal should be to limit the administrator user role to people who actually need to perform admin tasks. These tasks include things like changing the theme, installing new plugins, or adding new users to the website.

To change a user role, simply go to Users » All Users from your WordPress dashboard and edit a user profile. Next, scroll down to the ‘Role’ section and select the user role you wish to assign.

If you are working on your own site, then you will need to review user access. Create a new user account for your authors if required.

If there are older author and editor accounts that you will not be working with, then you need to edit those user accounts and change their email address and password. See our guide on how to disable user accounts without deleting them.

6. Run Security and Performance Scans

Next, you need to make sure that your new WordPress website is secure and performing well.

For security scans, we recommend using Sucuri. It is the best WordPress security plugin on the market and allows you to easily scan your website for malicious code, security threats, and vulnerabilities.

You can see our ultimate WordPress security guide for more details.

For performance, you can use any of the online website speed test tools. We recommend using the IsItWP website speed test tool, which is easy to use and gives you a detailed overview of your website speed.

It is also important that you check to see that caching is configured properly.

Many WordPress hosting companies like Bluehost and SiteGround offer built-in caching solutions that you can turn on from your hosting account. You can also use a WordPress caching plugin like WP Rocket to instantly improve your website speed.

If the site is not running a CDN, then you should consider using a CDN service. Although this is not required, we always recommend users to use a CDN. For more details, see our guide on why you should use CDN.

For more tips and tricks, you may want to see our ultimate guide to boost WordPress speed & performance.

7. Check for Proper Tracking and SEO Integration

If you have inherited the ownership of a new website, then the old website owner may have transferred the Google Analytics property to you.

A lot of website owners simply add the Google Analytics code to their WordPress theme. This code disappears as soon as you update the theme or install a new one.

Make sure that Google Analytics is properly installed on the website by either using MonsterInsights or by adding the tracking code outside the WordPress theme.

Similarly, they may have also transferred Google Search Console property to you as well.

Make sure that your site has XML Sitemaps in place for the search console. You may also want to look at Google Search Console reports to make sure there are no crawling issues or errors on the site.

We recommend using All in One SEO (AIOSEO) because it is the best SEO plugin for WordPress. You can easily optimize your site for search engines without hiring an expert.

8. Implement Version Control and/or a Staging Site

If you’re a developer, then it is highly recommended that you implement version control for the site. It is fairly easy to use GitHub or BitBucket.

If you’re not a developer, then at the very least we recommend setting up a WordPress staging site that ensures that you have a stable testing environment before pushing things live. We recommend this step for all users.

For those who’re scared to set this up, then WP Engine, a managed WordPress hosting provider, offers a robust staging environment and git version control integration.

Other small business hosting providers like SiteGround and Bluehost also offer staging features at affordable prices.

9. Run a Website Clean up

Now that you have familiarized yourself with the project, it is best to clean out all the unnecessary things. Delete all inactive themes and plugins. Delete all user accounts that are not needed.

Log in to your WordPress database and optimize it. Some bad plugins leave their database tables even after they’re deleted. If you notice any of those, then it is best to delete them.

See our beginner’s guide to WordPress database management to safely optimize the WordPress database.

10. Review Plugin Settings

A typical WordPress website uses several plugins that may still be referring to old owners. If you have taken ownership of a website, then you would want to change that.

For example, the contact form plugin on the website may still be sending notifications to old email addresses. WordPress SEO plugin may still be pointing to previous owners’ social media profiles.

You can discover some of these things by looking at the website and testing all its features. You can also review plugin settings and update them if needed.

11. Upgrade Your Hosting Service

After running the website speed test, if your website is still slow despite using caching, then it is time to upgrade your hosting.

If it is a client website, then your performance tests should help you convince the client to move. If you own the website yourself, then you just need to choose the right web host.

We recommend using SiteGround or Bluehost as they are one of the biggest hosting companies and officially recommended WordPress hosting providers.

If your website has outgrown shared hosting, then you may want to consider using a managed WordPress hosting service like WP Engine.

See our guide on how to move WordPress to a new host for step-by-step instructions to move your website.

We hope that this article offered some insights on what you should do when inheriting a WordPress site. You may also want to see our guide on the best WooCommerce plugins and the ultimate WordPress SEO guide for beginners.

If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

The post 11 Things You Should Do When Inheriting a WordPress Site first appeared on WPBeginner.