What You Can do Today to Get Your Blog 2018-Ready

As 2017 draws to a close, it’s time to start planning ahead for 2018. That means taking a hard look at the processes and tools that make your blog successful as well as problems and challenges that make it not as successful as you’d like.

OnceCoupled’s checklist includes some technical oversight that’ll ensure your blog is optimized for the new year. We’ve also included some content management to make the most of what you’ve got and get more out of the new year.

Test your site’s speed and functionality.

The end of the year is a great time to take a look at how your site’s actually working. Yeah. It’s not sexy work, but a slow, clunky site has a negative impact on SEO and on reader enjoyment. Google offers options that allow you to test your site’s speed and performance on mobile and desktop, making it easy to get an honest assessment of your site’s behavior.

Address the issues.

Unless you’re a web guru (and sometimes even when you’re a web guru), you’ll probably discover that your site isn’t running as well as it could. Fortunately, Google’s PageSpeed tools offer insight into what needs to be fixed and what’s working just fine. If you’re not sure how to fix the problems, we know somebody that can help. Get in touch.

Clear out plugins that don’t pull their weight.

If your blog is built on a pre-made theme, there’s a good chance you’ve got plugins that you don’t need. You’ve probably even got a few plugins that you added yourself but never made use of. Unnecessary plugins cause site bloat, and that slows down your site and leads to poor performance. Now’s a good time to shake off that dead weight and start 2018 leaner.

Hunt down some old posts you’d like to refresh for the new year.

The holidays lead to nostalgia, so why not take a walk down memory lane? Go back to the beginning of your blog and find those old gems that you’d like to polish up and show off again. Added bonus? You’ll have a whole new treasure trove of blog posts for those times when you don’t have any new ideas.

Cultivate new ideas from old comments.

While you’re perusing the classics, remember to take a peek at the comments section. Those questions and comments can be a whole separate line of inspiration for new posts in 2018. Wow! You’ve almost got a full editorial calendar already!

Review your 2017 accomplishments.

Take some time to congratulate yourself on all that you achieved in 2017. I don’t just mean sit back and smile about it. Make note! Write them down! Celebrate them! Looking back over old posts should be a reminder of how much you’ve grown as a blogger (and as a person), and that should add a little cheer to your end of year. It should also give you ideas for new directions in 2018.

Set SMART goals for 2018.

Finally, once you’ve reviewed what’s behind you, it’s time to think about what’s next. You’ve got a brand, spanking new 365 days ahead of you to inspire, connect, and prosper. Setting specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, time-bound goals will help you get the most out of those days.

How are you planning for 2018?