An important question one must ask themselves is what to do after the installation of WordPress. What should you consider after installing WordPress? In this article, I will give you some tips.
Congratulations!
You’ve just finished the installation of WordPress or have done that some time ago. Congratulations are in order. Well, it depends: it wasn’t that difficult right? Especially when you use the options that your hosting provider offers to install WordPress. Some providers offer nifty options to install WordPress with just a few clicks.
Standard user
Well, now you’re done, it’s time for something different. There are some things to consider. First of all, there is the standard user. This is the user that WordPress created during the installation process. Remember that you needed to add an email address and user name?
This standard user is one of the known problems that come with WordPress. As you might know, WordPress only works when you use a database. In this database, records are stored in tables. Every record in this table has a unique number or ID. The database table with users functions is just the same. However, there is one small problem. Since the standard user always has the same ID, everyone is aware of this. Well, not everyone. You might probably not have been aware of this. People who want to harm your website know this. And yes, there are ways to get access to a WordPress website that uses this standard user.
What is the problem then with this standard user? Simple: this user always gets the same ID and there are ways to get access through a closed system. Meaning: your WP Admin section. The trouble begins when this standard user is still available. The problems even get worse when this standard user consists of a user name that is something like admin or administrator.
The best option to consider after the installation is to delete this standard user. However, it’s not possible to delete this standard user if you didn’t create a new user account. Therefore, here are the steps you should take.
New user account
First of all, you start by creating a new user. Make sure that this user has administrator rights. After you’ve done this, you need to log out and log in using the credentials of the new user. Use a different email address from the one you used during the installation of WordPress.
Once you created this new user, logged out and logged in, you can delete the standard user account. WordPress will inform you that everything linked to this user (pages and posts) will also be deleted. You don’t want that, so you will have to link the new user to the existing content.
Another account
So, if you want to use the same credentials as given in the installation, you need to create a new account. Make sure that you don’t use generic names like WordPress, admin or administrator. It’s then up to you if you want to delete the first account you’ve created or not. Make sure that everything is linked correctly if you do decide to delete the newly created account.
Ready?
So are you ready? Well, it depends. Did you consider the installation of a security plugin like Wordfence or IThemes? These plugins will protect your WordPress website. When talking about plugins, you must be careful what you install.
Safe plugins and themes
There are many plugins and themes to chose from. Not all plugins and themes are safe. Even in the WordPress Repository, some plugins are not safe. Always make sure that you pick a plugin or theme that is updated frequently.
Another important issue is performance. Due to bad coding, some plugins or themes may conflict with existing plugins or themes. They can even slow down your website. A way to avoid this is by creating a testing environment. This can be done on your web server or your local computer or laptop.
XAMPP and Laragon
XAMPP and Laragon are good options to consider for local testing. If you’re not really into that kind of stuff there’s always the possibility to ask for help from an expert. Did you know I am such an expert? Under the Dutch name De Goede Huisvader Webhosting I offer services like installation and website development. I offer these services generally to my Dutch customers or customers living in The Netherlands. If you have any questions, contact me for more information.
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