Do first
Each work order is scored on impact (how much it should help) and effort (time and skill). Start with high impact and low effort.
| Work order | Impact | Effort | When |
|---|---|---|---|
| WO 4: Show who is behind the advice | High | Low | Week 1 |
| WO 7: Speed: remove the category drop-down | Medium | Low | Week 1 |
| WO 1: Cut the categories to about 10 | High | Medium | Weeks 1 to 3 |
| WO 2: Connect the articles | High | Medium | Weeks 2 to 3 |
| WO 3: Titles and descriptions | Medium | Low | Week 3 |
| WO 5: Write the way AI quotes | High | Medium | Weeks 9 to 12 |
| WO 6: Earn trusted links | Medium | High | Ongoing |
WO 1: Cut 7,554 categories down to about 10
Why
The category pages bury the articles. Google spends its attention on thousands of near-empty pages instead of the 192 articles that matter.
Steps
- Pick about 10 real topic categories (suggested list below).
- Re-assign each article to 1 or 2 of them. Use tags for the plugin and company names.
- In your SEO plugin, set category archives that are not on the list to noindex, and remove them from the sitemap.
- Give each of the 10 categories a 100 to 200 word intro and a main heading, so it is a real hub page.
- Re-submit the sitemap in Search Console and watch the indexed page count fall over the following weeks.
| Keep as a category | Folds in |
|---|---|
| WordPress Security | vulnerabilities, CVEs, malware, breaches, plugin flaws |
| WordPress Releases | WordPress 7.x, updates, the editor |
| Plugins | plugin news and reviews |
| WooCommerce and Ecommerce | stores, payments, platforms |
| Comparisons | WordPress vs other platforms |
| Hosting and Performance | outages, speed, uptime |
| SEO | search updates, AI search |
| How-To Guides | step-by-step articles |
| Weekly Roundup | the weekly roundups |
| Business and Opinion | end-of-year thoughts, trends |
Done when: the sitemap lists about 210 addresses instead of 7,755, and each of the 10 categories has an intro and a main heading.
WO 2: Connect the articles
Why
Many articles have no links from other articles. Once a story scrolls off the latest-posts list, little points to it.
Steps
- Add a "Related stories" block to the end of each article, matched by category.
- In each security news story, link to the matching guide (for example, the security plugins guide).
- Make each of the 10 category pages link to its 5 most important articles.
- From now on, every new article links to at least 2 older ones and 1 guide.
Done when: no article is more than 3 clicks from the homepage.
WO 3: Titles and descriptions
Why
Titles are what people read in Google before they click. Each guide and comparison should start its title with the search it is written for.
Steps
- Put the main search near the start of the title, for example "WordPress vs Webflow (2026): Which Is Right for You?"
- Drop the site-name suffix where a title runs past about 60 characters.
- Give every guide and comparison its own description of about 150 characters that answers the question.
Done when: the 20 most important articles have titles that start with their main search.
WO 4: Show who is behind the advice (trust)
Why
For security and how-to advice, Google and AI tools favor a named, experienced author. Today every article is credited to the site name.
Steps
- Create a real author profile: name, photo, years of WordPress experience, and what they have worked on.
- Show the author and a one-line bio on every article, and set the author in the article schema to that person.
- Add an About page: who runs the site, why, and how stories are checked.
- Add a short editorial policy: how you verify vulnerabilities, how you correct mistakes, how you handle sponsored content.
- Link the author to their LinkedIn and WordPress.org profiles.
Done when: every article names a real author with a bio, and the About and editorial policy pages are live and linked in the footer.
WO 5: Write the way AI quotes (AI answers)
Why
Every search here shows a Google AI Overview. The pages AI tools quote open with a direct answer, use question headings, lists and tables, and show a date.
Steps
- Open each guide with a 40 to 60 word answer to the main question.
- Use question headings that match what people ask, such as "Which security plugin is best for WordPress?"
- Put comparisons in a table (features, price, best for).
- Show "Last updated" with a date, and update the top 20 articles each quarter.
- Answer 3 to 5 questions in a FAQ at the end, with FAQ schema.
- Join the conversation where AI looks: answer questions on Reddit and the WordPress.org forums, linking to the guide only when it truly helps.
Done when: the top 20 articles each open with a direct answer, carry a comparison table or list, and show an updated date.
WO 6: Earn trusted links
Why
Authority is 175; similar sites are 255 to 542. Links from trusted sites close that gap faster than anything on the page.
Steps
- Turn the vulnerability coverage into a running "WordPress vulnerability tracker" page that other sites can cite.
- Publish one piece of original data each quarter, for example how fast popular plugins patch security flaws.
- Offer expert quotes to journalists covering WordPress security.
- Ask plugin developers you cover to link to your write-up of their fix.
Done when: the tracker page is live and at least 5 new trusted sites link to the site within 90 days.
WO 7: Speed up the homepage
Why
The homepage takes 13.5 seconds to show its main content on a phone; Google's target is 2.5. A sidebar drop-down listing all 7,554 categories adds about 600 KB of code on its own.
Steps
- Remove the category drop-down widget from the sidebar (the 10 topic categories from work order 1 replace it).
- Resize and compress the homepage images, and convert them to WebP.
- Make sure the first image is not lazy-loaded.
- Run Google's PageSpeed Insights (phone) again and compare.
Done when: the homepage shows its main content in under 2.5 seconds on PageSpeed Insights (phone).