Lesson 07: WordPress Settings Deep Dive
Objectives
- Configure all essential WordPress settings correctly
- Set up proper permalinks (URL structure)
- Configure reading settings (homepage display)
- Understand each settings page and when to change it
Settings → General
Path: Settings → General
| Setting | What It Does | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Site Title | Your website's name (appears in browser tab, header) | Your business/site name |
| Tagline | A short description of your site | A brief slogan or description |
| WordPress Address (URL) | Where WordPress files are installed | Don't change this! |
| Site Address (URL) | The public URL visitors use | Don't change this! |
| Administration Email | Email for admin notifications | Your real email |
| Membership | Allow anyone to register | Usually unchecked (unless you need user registration) |
| New User Default Role | Role assigned to new registrants | Subscriber (safest) |
| Site Language | Language for the admin interface | Your preferred language |
| Timezone | Used for scheduling posts | Your timezone |
| Date Format | How dates are displayed | Your preference |
| Time Format | How times are displayed | Your preference |
Action Items:
- Set your Site Title to something meaningful
- Write a clear Tagline (or leave it empty — some themes display "Just another WordPress site" if you don't change it!)
- Set your Timezone
- Never change the WordPress Address or Site Address unless you know exactly what you're doing — this can break your site
Settings → Writing
Path: Settings → Writing
| Setting | What It Does | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Default Post Category | Category for posts when none is selected | Change from "Uncategorized" to your general category |
| Default Post Format | Post format (Standard, Video, Quote, etc.) | Standard |
This page is simple. The main action:
- Set your Default Post Category to whatever you renamed "Uncategorized" to
Settings → Reading
Path: Settings → Reading
This is one of the most important settings pages.
Your Homepage Displays
| Option | What It Does |
|---|---|
| Your latest posts | Homepage shows a list of your recent blog posts (like a traditional blog) |
| A static page | Homepage shows a specific page you created (like a business website) |
For most professional sites, choose "A static page":
- Select "A static page"
- Homepage: Select the page to use as your homepage (create a "Home" page first if you haven't)
- Posts page: Select a page to use as your blog listing (create a "Blog" page — it can be empty, WordPress will populate it automatically)
Other Reading Settings
| Setting | What It Does | Recommended |
|---|---|---|
| Blog pages show at most | Number of posts per page | 10 is fine |
| Syndication feeds show | Number of items in RSS feed | 10 is fine |
| For each post in a feed, include | Full text or summary in RSS | Summary |
| Search engine visibility | Discourage search engines from indexing | Uncheck this! (Unless you're in development and don't want Google to find your site yet) |
Critical Warning!
The "Search engine visibility" checkbox ("Discourage search engines from indexing this site") should be:
- Checked while you're developing locally or building the site
- Unchecked when the site goes live — forgetting this means Google won't index your site!
Settings → Discussion
Path: Settings → Discussion
Controls comments and user interaction.
Key Settings:
| Setting | What It Does | Recommended for Business Sites |
|---|---|---|
| Allow people to submit comments on new posts | Enable/disable comments globally | Uncheck if you don't want a blog with comments |
| Comment author must fill out name and email | Require identification | Check |
| Users must be registered and logged in to comment | Restrict who can comment | Usually uncheck |
| Automatically close comments on posts older than X days | Auto-close old discussions | 30-90 days is common |
| Comment must be manually approved | Moderate all comments | Check — prevents spam |
| Comment moderation | Hold comments with certain content | Default is fine |
| Disallowed comment keys | Block comments with certain words | Add spam words as needed |
If You Don't Want Comments at All:
- Uncheck "Allow people to submit comments on new posts"
- This applies to new posts only — existing posts keep their current setting
- To disable comments on existing posts, bulk-edit them (Posts → All Posts → Select All → Bulk Actions → Edit → Comments: Do not allow)
Settings → Media
Path: Settings → Media
Controls the image sizes WordPress generates when you upload.
| Setting | Default | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| Thumbnail size | 150 × 150 | Small previews |
| Medium size | 300 × 300 max | In-content images |
| Large size | 1024 × 1024 max | Full-width images |
Recommendation: Leave these at defaults unless your theme or design requires specific sizes.
Organize Media
- "Organize my uploads into month- and year-based folders" — Keep this checked. It creates folders like
/uploads/2026/03/which prevents having thousands of files in one directory.
Settings → Permalinks (Critical!)
Path: Settings → Permalinks
This controls the URL structure of your site. This is one of the first things you should set up.
Available Structures:
| Structure | Example URL | Recommended? |
|---|---|---|
| Plain | ?p=123 |
Never — ugly and bad for SEO |
| Day and name | /2026/03/02/sample-post/ |
For news sites |
| Month and name | /2026/03/sample-post/ |
For blogs |
| Numeric | /archives/123 |
Never |
| Post name | /sample-post/ |
Yes — use this one! |
| Custom | You define it | For specific needs |
Set It Now:
- Select "Post name"
- Click "Save Changes"
Why "Post name"?
- Clean, readable URLs:
yoursite.com/about-us/instead ofyoursite.com/?p=5 - Better for SEO — keywords in the URL help search engines
- Better for sharing — people can read and trust the URL
- Short and professional
Important Warning:
Change permalinks FIRST, before creating lots of content. Changing them later can break existing links and hurt SEO. On a live site with existing content, changing permalinks requires setting up redirects.
Settings → Privacy
Path: Settings → Privacy
- Select or create a Privacy Policy page
- WordPress can generate a template privacy policy for you
- Required by law in many regions (GDPR in Europe, CCPA in California)
Action Items:
- Click "Create a new Privacy Policy page" if you haven't already
- Edit the generated page to match your site's actual practices
- Or select an existing privacy policy page
First-Time Setup Checklist
Here's the order to configure a new WordPress site:
Settings → General
- Set Site Title and Tagline
- Set Timezone
- Remove "Just another WordPress site" from Tagline
Settings → Permalinks
- Select "Post name" → Save Changes
Settings → Reading
- Set "A static page" for homepage (after creating Home and Blog pages)
- Check "Discourage search engines" while developing
Settings → Discussion
- Configure comment settings based on your needs
Settings → Writing
- Set Default Post Category
Settings → Media
- Usually leave defaults
Settings → Privacy
- Create or assign a privacy policy page
Exercises
Configure General settings: Set your site title, tagline, and timezone. Remove "Just another WordPress site" if it's still there.
Set Permalinks to "Post name": This is critical — do it now before creating lots of content.
Set up your homepage:
- Create a page called "Home" (if you haven't already)
- Create a page called "Blog"
- Go to Settings → Reading → select "A static page"
- Set Homepage to "Home" and Posts page to "Blog"
- Visit your site to see the change
Configure comments: Decide if you want comments on your site. If not, uncheck the setting in Discussion. If yes, enable moderation.
Check search engine visibility: Make sure it's checked while developing locally (we'll uncheck it when going live).
Create a privacy policy: Use the Settings → Privacy page to create one.
Key Takeaways
- Set Permalinks to "Post name" immediately — do this before creating content
- Set a static homepage in Reading settings for professional/business sites
- Remove "Just another WordPress site" from your tagline
- Check "Discourage search engines" during development, uncheck when going live
- Enable comment moderation if you allow comments
- The most critical settings pages are: Permalinks, Reading, and General
- Always configure settings before building out your content
Next Module: Module 2 - Themes & Appearance