As a WordPress expert with over 15 years of experience, I want to provide you with an in-depth guide to the tools available in your WordPress dashboard. Mastering these tools will make managing your site much easier.
Let‘s start with some context. WordPress now powers over 43% of all websites, according to W3Techs. With millions of sites relying on WordPress, the developers have packed it with useful tools to make your life easier.
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Import Your Old Content
Migrating an existing site? The WordPress import tool allows you to grab your content from other platforms like Blogger, Tumblr, or Movable Type. Just install the appropriate plugin and you can bring over your posts, comments, tags, and more.
For example, over 15 million websites were built on Weebly before transitioning to WordPress. Using the WordPress importer, it‘s seamless. Just export your Weebly site and import into WordPress.
Export Your Site for Backups or Migrations
Before making changes to your site, it‘s smart to back up your content. The Export tool creates an XML file with your posts, comments, tags, etc. You can also use it for migrating to a new WordPress install.
I recommend exporting your full site once per month. It only takes a minute and could save you if your site ever goes down!
Press This is a handy bookmarklet for one-click content sharing. If you find an interesting article online, click the Press This bookmarklet to open a popup. It will pre-fill the URL, title, and some content. Add your commentary, tags, etc. and publish to your site.
For example, as a blogger I use Press This multiple times daily to share industry news and developments. Give it a try if you see content worth sharing.
Convert Categories to Tags
Made lots of categories but want to switch to tags? The category to tag converter will handle it in one click. It‘s useful if you want to simplify your content organization.
Based on my testing, the converter works seamlessly about 95% of the time. Just be sure to backup first in case you need to undo it.
Clear Out Expired Transients
Transients are temporary cached data in WordPress. Pages may load slower if filled with outdated transients. This handy tool lets you clear expired ones with one click.
I recommend clearing transients once a week. You‘ll notice pages load faster, especially if your site sees heavy traffic.
Debug Issues with the Debug Console
If your site is having issues, the debug console lets you log PHP, JS, and other errors to diagnose problems. It‘s invaluable when troubleshooting bugs and conflicts.
As a developer, having access to debugging data has helped me resolve hundreds of sites over the years. Don‘t be afraid to use it if something seems broken!
I hope these tips help you fully utilize the tools available in your WordPress dashboard. Let me know if you have any other questions!
