Starting a website with WordPress is exciting. You’re building something from scratch—your blog, business, or online store. But along the way, many beginners make small mistakes that cause big problems.

The good news? These mistakes are easy to avoid once you know what they are.

In this post, we’ll walk through the 5 most common WordPress mistakes beginners still make. You’ll learn how these errors affect your website and how to fix them quickly. Whether you’re new to WordPress or building your tenth site, avoiding these mistakes will help your site grow faster, stay safer, and rank better on search engines.

Mistake #1: Ignoring Updates

Why updates matter

WordPress, along with its plugins and themes, gets regular updates. These updates often fix bugs, patch security issues, and improve features. When you skip them, your site becomes outdated—and vulnerable.

What can go wrong?

  • Your site can get hacked due to outdated software.
  • Plugins may stop working properly.
  • Performance can suffer.
  • New WordPress features may not work on your theme.

According to Sucuri, many hacked WordPress sites were running outdated versions of plugins or core files.

How to fix it

  1. Enable automatic updates for minor WordPress core changes.
  2. Visit your WordPress dashboard weekly to check for plugin and theme updates.
  3. Use a backup plugin like UpdraftPlus to restore your site if something goes wrong.
  4. Use staging tools from hosts like SiteGround, Cloudways, or WP Engine to test updates safely.

Mistake #2: Using “admin” as your username

Why it’s dangerous

When WordPress is first installed, it often suggests using “admin” as your username. Many beginners leave it that way. But “admin” is the first username hackers try during brute-force attacks.

How to fix it

  1. Create a new WordPress user with a strong, unique username.
  2. Give this new user Administrator privileges.
  3. Log out and log back in as the new user.
  4. Delete the original “admin” user and assign all content to your new account.
  5. Use a strong password with uppercase, lowercase, numbers, and symbols.

Install a security plugin like Wordfence or iThemes Security and enable two-factor authentication (2FA).

Mistake #3: Skipping basic SEO setup

What is SEO?

SEO, or Search Engine Optimization, helps Google and other search engines find your site. Without SEO, even great content won’t rank well.

What beginners often miss

  • No SEO plugin
  • No focus keywords
  • No meta descriptions
  • No alt text in images
  • Bad URL structure
  • No links (internal or external)

How to fix it

  1. Install an SEO plugin like Rank Math or Yoast SEO.
  2. Go to Settings → Permalinks and choose “Post name”.
  3. Use a focus keyword in the title, URL, headings, and first paragraph.
  4. Add internal links to your own posts (e.g., best SEO plugin).
  5. Add external DoFollow links to high-authority sources like Google Search Central.
  6. Write custom meta descriptions for each post, under 160 characters.
  7. Add alt text to all images using your focus keyword.

Mistake #4: Leaving default content and settings

Why it’s unprofessional

New WordPress installs come with a sample post and a default tagline. Leaving them in place looks lazy and amateurish.

How it hurts

  • Looks unfinished to visitors
  • May get indexed by search engines
  • Hurts your brand’s credibility

How to fix it

  1. Delete the “Hello World” post and sample pages.
  2. Go to Settings → General and change the site tagline.
  3. Create these pages: Home, About, Blog, Contact.
  4. Set a static homepage via Settings → Reading.
  5. Go to Appearance → Menus and update your navigation.

Mistake #5: Installing too many plugins

Why it’s a problem

While plugins add great features, using too many can slow down your site, cause errors, and increase security risks.

What to do instead

  1. Go to Plugins → Installed Plugins and remove what you don’t need.
  2. Replace multiple plugins with multifunction ones like WP Rocket.
  3. Check site speed using GTmetrix or Google PageSpeed Insights.
  4. Keep plugin count below 15 if possible.
  5. Only download plugins from the official WordPress Plugin Repository.

Bonus Tips for WordPress Beginners

  • Use reliable hosting – like SiteGround, Cloudways, or Bluehost.
  • Pick a responsive theme – Astra, Kadence, or GeneratePress work great on mobile.
  • Enable SSL – Most hosts offer free SSL via Let’s Encrypt.
  • Back up your site – Use plugins like UpdraftPlus or Jetpack.
  • Learn some HTML/CSS – Helps with custom design changes.
  • Keep your layout clean – Avoid pop-ups and cluttered pages.

Summary

When you’re new to WordPress, it’s easy to make simple mistakes that hurt your site. The top five WordPress mistakes beginners make include skipping updates, using the “admin” username, ignoring SEO setup, leaving default content, and installing too many plugins.

These mistakes can lead to poor security, bad SEO, and a slow site. But the fixes are easy—and powerful. Update your software, use a secure username, configure SEO, clean up sample content, and reduce plugin clutter.

With these steps, your site will load faster, rank higher, and offer a better experience to your visitors. Learn the basics, stay consistent, and your WordPress journey will be smooth and successful.