Getting Started with Your New WordPress Site: The First 10 Things to Check

Use this checklist to review the most important settings, content, and health checks on your brand?new WordPress site before you start sending visitors.

Why a First-Day WordPress Check Matters

When a new WordPress site goes live (or is handed to you by Compass Production), it’s tempting to immediately start publishing content. But a short, structured review on day one will prevent security issues, confusing settings, and messy content later.

This guide walks you through 10 practical checks in your WordPress dashboard. You don’t need to be technical—just follow the steps and confirm what you see matches the expectations.

Before You Start: Log In Safely

• Open your site’s admin URL (usually /wp-admin).
• Log in with the account provided by Compass Production.
• Make sure you see the WordPress dashboard (left-hand menu with items like Dashboard, Posts, Media, Pages).

1. Confirm Your User Role and Access Level

Your account should have the right level of control—usually Administrator for an owner, or Editor/Author for content-only users. WordPress uses roles (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber) to control what each user can do.

How to Check Your Role

1. Go to Dashboard ? Users ? Profile.
2. Look for the Role field in your profile or ask an Administrator to open Dashboard ? Users ? All Users and check the Role column.

If you’re the site owner, you will usually be an Administrator, which has access to all single-site administration features.Source

2. Verify Site Title, Tagline, and Language

These basic settings affect how your site appears in browsers and search results.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard ? Settings ? General.
2. Check Site Title and Tagline for typos and accuracy.
3. Confirm WordPress Address (URL) and Site Address (URL) match the domain you expect.
4. Confirm Site Language is correct for your audience.
5. Click Save Changes if you adjust anything.

What You Should See

A single, correct domain (no stray .test or staging URLs), your brand name in Site Title, and the right language selected.

3. Check Reading Settings and Homepage Behavior

You want visitors to land on the correct homepage and see a reasonable number of posts on listing pages.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard ? Settings ? Reading.
2. Under Your homepage displays, confirm whether it’s set to A static page or Your latest posts, based on your project plan.
3. If using a static page, confirm the correct Homepage and (if applicable) Posts page are selected.
4. Review Blog pages show at most and Syndication feeds show the most recent values (10 is a common default).

What You Should See

The homepage setting should match what you see on the front of the site. If your design includes a custom homepage, it should be selected here.

4. Open the Site Health Tool

WordPress includes a built-in Site Health tool that checks performance, security, and configuration issues for you.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard ? Tools ? Site Health.
2. On the Status tab, wait for the checks to complete.
3. Review any Critical issues and Recommended improvements.
4. Click each item to read WordPress’s explanation and suggested fix.

What You Should See

Ideally, you’ll see a message that your site is in good health, or only a few recommended improvements. Site Health groups issues by severity and explains what they mean so you can decide whether to act now or later.Source

5. Confirm Core, Theme, and Plugin Updates

Running the latest stable versions of WordPress core, your theme, and your plugins is critical for security and compatibility.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard ? Updates.
2. Check the top of the page for your WordPress version and whether an update is available.
3. Scroll down to see if any Plugins or Themes have updates pending.
4. If Compass Production manages updates for you, just note what you see and share it with your support contact rather than updating on your own.

What You Should See

On a freshly delivered site, you should usually see that WordPress is up to date and that your active theme and key plugins are current or configured for safe automatic updates.Source

6. Take a Quick Tour of the Block Editor

Even if Compass Production built your layouts with Elementor, you’ll still use the native WordPress block editor for most posts and sometimes for simple pages.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard ? Pages ? Add New (or Posts ? Add New).
2. When the editor opens, look for three main areas: the top toolbar, the right-hand sidebar, and the content area.
3. Click the + button to add a few basic blocks: Paragraph, Heading, and Image.
4. Use the right sidebar to change the page title, URL slug, and featured image (if available).
5. Click Save draft instead of Publish—this is just practice.

What You Should See

A clean editing screen with a top toolbar, a content canvas in the center, and a settings sidebar on the right. The block editor opens in fullscreen mode by default, and you can insert and rearrange content blocks visually.Source

7. Review Existing Pages and Menus

Next, confirm that your core pages and navigation match what you expect.

Review Pages

1. Go to Dashboard ? Pages ? All Pages.
2. Scan the list for your key pages (Home, About, Services, Contact, Blog, etc.).
3. Hover over a page title and click View to open it in a new tab.

Review Menus

1. Go to Dashboard ? Appearance ? Menus or Appearance ? Editor (for block themes) and look for the primary navigation.
2. Confirm the menu items are in the right order and point to the correct pages.

What You Should See

Your primary pages should exist, be published, and appear in the main navigation. Any placeholder or sandbox pages created for training should be clearly labeled.

8. Check Media Library and Image Behavior

Images are a common source of confusion and performance issues. A quick review now helps you understand how your site handles media.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard ? Media ? Library.
2. Switch between Grid and List view to see how files are organized.
3. Click a few images to open the attachment details and confirm:

• File name is readable (not random camera strings if possible).
• Alt text is present for important images.
• File sizes are reasonable (large hero images will be bigger; thumbnails should be small).

What You Should See

A manageable set of images, each with a preview, basic details, and (ideally) descriptive alt text for accessibility and SEO.

9. Confirm Comment and Discussion Settings

Decide early whether you want comments on posts and how strictly they should be moderated.

Steps

1. Go to Dashboard ? Settings ? Discussion.
2. Review whether comments are allowed on new posts by default.
3. Check moderation options, such as holding a comment if it contains links or if the author has not had a previously approved comment.
4. Decide whether you want email notifications for new comments or comments awaiting moderation.

What You Should See

Settings that match your risk tolerance: business sites often keep comments off or heavily moderated, while blogs may allow more open discussion with spam protections in place.

10. Capture a Snapshot of Your Current Setup

Finally, record how your site looks and is configured on day one. This makes future troubleshooting and training much easier.

Steps

1. In Tools ? Site Health ? Info, click Copy site info to clipboard and paste it into a safe document for reference.Source
2. Take screenshots of your homepage, a key interior page, and your dashboard.
3. Note which user account you’re using (email and role) and store that securely.

What You Should See

A simple internal record of your WordPress version, active theme, active plugins, and basic configuration. This is invaluable if something changes later or if you need support.

Next Steps After Your First-Day Check

Once you’ve completed these 10 checks, you’re ready to:

• Start drafting real content in the block editor.
• Schedule a training session or review your Compass Production training materials.
• Discuss any Site Health warnings or update questions with your support contact.

If you need more advanced control over who can do what in the dashboard, WordPress also supports custom roles and capabilities that developers can extend through code or plugins.Source

For now, keep this checklist handy. Running through it anytime your site is redesigned, migrated, or relaunched will help you stay confident and in control of your WordPress website.