Learn how to safely configure your WordPress General, Reading, Discussion, and Permalink settings so your new site looks right, works correctly, and is ready for visitors.
Why Your Core WordPress Settings Matter
Before you add lots of pages, posts, or design work, it’s worth spending 20–30 minutes setting up WordPress’s core settings. These options control your site title, homepage, comments, and URLs. Getting them right early will save you from confusion, broken links, and cleanup work later.
This guide walks new site owners through four key areas in Settings:
- General
- Reading
- Discussion
- Permalinks
We’ll use the latest stable WordPress, with the standard left-hand admin menu.
Before You Start: Quick Checklist
- You can log in to your WordPress dashboard as an Administrator.
- Your site is running on WordPress.org (self-hosted), not the limited WordPress.com dashboard.
- You know your preferred site name (brand) and a short description.
Step 1: Configure General Settings
The General screen controls your basic identity and some behind-the-scenes defaults.
How to Open General Settings
- Log in to your dashboard.
- In the left menu, go to Settings ? General.
Key Fields to Set First
- Site Title – This is your website’s main name. It appears in the browser tab and often in search results. Choose something clear and brand-aligned, like “Greenfield Legal” or “Summit Fitness Studio”. Source
- Tagline – A short phrase that explains what you do (for example, “Estate planning for growing families”). Many modern themes hide this visually, but search engines can still read it.
- Administration Email Address – Use an inbox you actually check. WordPress sends important alerts here (password resets, update notices, comment moderation, etc.).
- Timezone, Date Format, Time Format – Set these to your local region so post timestamps, scheduled posts, and event dates make sense to visitors.
- Site Language – Choose the main language of your site. This affects some interface text and can influence translation behavior.
What You Should See
A simple form with fields for Site Title, Tagline, URLs, email, membership, timezone, date/time formats, and site language. After you click Save Changes, the page reloads and your new title appears in the top-left admin bar.
Step 2: Set Up Reading Settings (Your Homepage and Blog)
The Reading screen decides what visitors see first and how many posts appear on listing pages.
How to Open Reading Settings
- From the dashboard, go to Settings ? Reading.
Choose What Your Homepage Displays
You have two main options:
- Your latest posts – Your homepage is a blog feed. Good for newsy or personal sites.
- A static page – Your homepage is a regular page (for example, “Home”), and your blog lives on a separate “Blog” or “News” page. This is best for most business and organization sites.
If You Want a Static Homepage
- First, create two pages: Dashboard ? Pages ? Add New.
- One called “Home” (your main landing page).
- One called “Blog” or “News” (your posts index).
- Then go back to Settings ? Reading.
- Under Your homepage displays, select A static page.
- Choose Homepage ? Home and Posts page ? Blog from the dropdowns.
- Click Save Changes.
WordPress’s Reading Settings documentation shows this same setup and explains how the homepage and posts page work together. Source
Control How Many Posts Show
- Blog pages show at most – A typical starting value is 6–10 posts. Fewer posts per page can improve performance.
- Syndication feeds show the most recent – Controls how many posts appear in RSS feeds.
- For each post in a feed, include – Choose Excerpt to keep feeds lighter and avoid duplicate full content.
What You Should See
You’ll see radio buttons for “Your latest posts” vs “A static page”, dropdowns for selecting pages, and numeric fields for how many posts to show. After saving, visiting your site’s homepage in a new browser tab should show the page you chose as “Home,” not a raw blog feed.
Step 3: Configure Discussion Settings (Comments and Notifications)
The Discussion screen manages how comments work across your site: who can comment, what gets held for moderation, and how you’re notified.
How to Open Discussion Settings
- From the dashboard, go to Settings ? Discussion.
Recommended Baseline Settings for New Site Owners
Exact options can vary slightly by version, but the core ideas stay the same. The official Discussion Settings documentation outlines each option in detail. Source
Suggested Safe Defaults
- Default post settings
- Uncheck automatic pingbacks/trackbacks unless you specifically need them.
- Leave “Allow people to submit comments on new posts” checked only if you plan to manage comments.
- Other comment settings
- Require commenters to fill out name and email.
- Consider requiring users to be registered and logged in to comment if spam becomes a problem.
- Automatically close comments on posts older than 30–60 days for most business sites.
- Email me whenever
- Keep both “Anyone posts a comment” and “A comment is held for moderation” enabled at first so you don’t miss activity.
- Before a comment appears
- Check “Comment must be manually approved” for maximum control, at least while your site is new.
- Comment moderation & blacklist
- Use the moderation queue for comments with multiple links or suspicious keywords.
What You Should See
A long list of checkboxes and text fields grouped under headings like “Default post settings,” “Other comment settings,” and “Email me whenever.” After saving, try leaving a test comment on a post in a private browser window to confirm it behaves the way you expect (for example, held for moderation and emailed to you).
Step 4: Choose a Permalink Structure (Your URLs)
Permalinks are the permanent URLs for your posts and pages. A clean structure is better for visitors and search engines, and it’s much easier to set this up correctly before you publish lots of content.
How to Open Permalink Settings
- From the dashboard, go to Settings ? Permalinks.
Recommended Structure for Most Business Sites
On the Permalinks screen, you’ll see several common options (Plain, Day and name, Month and name, Numeric, Post name, Custom Structure). The official Permalinks Settings documentation explains each choice and how it affects your URLs. Source
For most modern sites, choose:
- Post name – This gives you URLs like
https://example.com/sample-post/, which are short, readable, and stable.
Important Timing Tip
It’s safest to choose your permalink structure before you start promoting your site or sharing links. Changing it later can create broken links unless you add redirects. If you must change an existing site’s structure, plan to use a redirection plugin or your host’s redirect tools so old URLs still work. Source
Optional: Category and Tag Base
Near the bottom of the Permalinks screen, you may see fields for Category base and Tag base. These let you customize URLs like:
/category/news/?/topics/news//tag/wordpress/?/topics/wordpress/
These are optional and mostly cosmetic. Many sites leave them blank.
What You Should See
A list of radio buttons for different URL formats, a preview example under each, and optional fields for category/tag bases. After you select Post name and click Save Changes, open a sample post on the front end and confirm the URL uses just the slug (for example, /about-us/ or /our-services/).
Step 5: Double-Check How It All Works Together
Once you’ve configured these four settings screens, do a quick review from a visitor’s perspective.
Front-End Spot Check
- Open your site in a new browser tab (or an incognito window).
- Confirm the browser tab shows your new Site Title.
- Visit the homepage and make sure it shows either your static “Home” page or latest posts, depending on your choice.
- Click into a post and check that the URL matches your chosen permalink structure.
- Leave a test comment and confirm it behaves according to your Discussion settings (for example, held for moderation and emailed to you).
What You Should See
- A homepage that matches your chosen layout (static page or blog feed).
- Clean, readable URLs using the “Post name” structure.
- Comments either disabled sitewide or flowing into moderation instead of appearing instantly.
- Admin email notifications arriving for new comments or moderation events.
Next Steps After Core Settings
With your General, Reading, Discussion, and Permalinks settings in a good place, you’re ready to:
- Start building pages and posts with the Block Editor or a layout tool like Elementor.
- Configure your privacy and search visibility settings, including your Privacy Policy page. Source
- Install only the plugins you truly need, such as a security plugin, backup tool, and caching/performance plugin.
Treat these core settings as your site’s foundation. Once they’re set correctly, everything else—from design to SEO—becomes easier, more consistent, and less likely to break as your site grows.
