Blog Spring Cleaning Tips and Tools – Part 1
Finally, spring is here! I think it’s here, anyway… really hard to tell in the DC area (you sneeze in these parts, and the weather changes). My calendar says the timing’s right, though, so yay!
If you publish a blog, it’s a good time to do some basic blog spring cleaning. Good thing is that it should be a lot easier (and a whole lot less filthier) than that annual top-to-bottom house cleaning thing that many of us winter climate survivors have ritualized.
Here’s a list and summary then of things to check (and fix) and basic maintenance tasks to do on your blog. Originally I was just planning on a single quick post, but it kinda grew, so the whole thing’ll probably be broken up into three separate posts.
Note that as a WordPress blog publisher, any tools I mention will likely be WordPress-specific. Not all though. Also not a problem if you’re not a WordPress user — better than even chance that a simple Google search will find corresponding tools for your preferred blog platform.
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I’ll probably miss a few must-do’s and tools, so please comment and share any tips/tools I haven’t mentioned with the rest of your fellow Wordpreneurs.
Backup Your Blog
You really should do this more frequently, but hey, we’re human (TRANSLATION: lazy). So do this now, before you futz around with anything else.
I’ve long used the WordPress Database Backup plugin for this. Works pretty well. Haven’t checked lately, however, to see if there are are any new plugins that do it better. Tell us if you know of one.
Upgrade WordPress
If you’re still running an older version, you’ll want to upgrade your WordPress installation to the latest (as of this writing, it’s at version 2.7.1). I’m less concerned about functionality — each succeeding version, however, seems to often introduce some really cool new features you don’t even think you need but end up can’t living without — than I am about security holes. New versions plug any holes that have been found, and believe me, they’re there.
If your host doesn’t have an automated easy way to upgrade your WordPress installation, you can always pick up the latest version to install direct from the source for free.
Note that upgrading sometimes breaks some plugins and themes you’ve got installed… good thing you’re spring cleaning, huh?
Check/Upgrade/Replace Plugins
If you’ve upgraded WordPress and a plugin or two (or three) have stopped working, the need to do this is obvious. But even if a plugin is still functionaing as intended, it’s a good idea to check and see if new versions of the plugin have been released or if other similar-but-better plugins are out there.
A good resource for this is the official WordPress Plugin Directory.
Check and Fix Dead Links
Very easy to do with the plugin I use: Broken Link Checker. Highly recommended!
If you want (or have) to use a free online link checker instead, I just did a Google search on dead link checker. Here are the top 3 results. Doesn’t look like there’s any shortage of their brethren, either, so it shouldn’t take too much to find something that’ll do the job for you just the way you like it.
Try Out a New Theme
This isn’t critical (unless the WordPress upgrade manages to break it), but sometimes a new look-and-feel can do “feel good” wonders, just like a new wardrobe — or a new car — does.
The good thing is that installing and applying a new theme doesn’t uninstall the old one, so it’s so very easy to return your blog to the way it was if you want to.
The official WordPress Theme Directory is a good starting point for your search.
…to be continued…
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Hey Eldon, I just finished reviewing a whole lot of wordpress plugins, testing them to make sure they are compatible with WP 2.7.1. It could help with the Check/Upgrade/Replace Plugins part of your article. It’s at http://tinyurl.com/ca7n2w.
Hi Mike
That looks like a really useful post/list! Thanks. The link’s above folks… check it out.
ees