Getting Started with Your New WordPress Site: A Simple First-Week Checklist

Use this simple first-week checklist to get comfortable in your new WordPress site, create core pages, and confirm that everything is healthy and secure.

Why a First-Week Checklist Matters

Your first login shows that WordPress is installed and working. Your first week is where you turn a blank install into a usable, safe website. This checklist walks you through practical, low?stress tasks to complete in your first 7 days.

You do not need to be technical. If you can log in, click menus, and type, you can complete everything here.

Day 1: Confirm Access and Roles

1. Make sure you have the right account type

For a new business site, your main login should usually be an Administrator so you can manage settings, plugins, and users. WordPress includes several built?in roles (Administrator, Editor, Author, Contributor, Subscriber), each with different capabilities like publishing posts or managing plugins.Source

To check your role:

• Go to Dashboard ? Users ? Profile.
• Look for the Role field. If you do not see it, ask your developer or host which role you have.

If you are not the only person using the site, confirm who else has access and what roles they have under Dashboard ? Users ? All Users.

2. Confirm you can reach key admin screens

Click through these core areas to be sure nothing is blocked or broken:

• Dashboard ? Pages (and click Add New)
• Dashboard ? Posts (and click Add New)
• Dashboard ? Appearance ? Themes
• Dashboard ? Plugins ? Installed Plugins

What you should see

• No error messages or blank white screens when you open these pages.
• On Pages ? Add New, a block editor screen with a title field at the top and a large content area below.Source

Day 2: Create Your Core Pages

Even if your content is not final, creating placeholder pages helps you and your developer wire the site together.

3. Add basic site pages

Most business sites start with at least:

• Home
• About
• Services (or Products)
• Contact
• Blog (or News)

To create a new page:

1. Go to Dashboard ? Pages ? Add New.
2. Enter a clear page title, such as About or Contact.
3. In the content area, type a simple placeholder like “Draft content coming soon.”
4. On the right side, under Page settings, confirm Visibility is set to Public (you can keep it as a draft if you are not ready to show it yet).
5. Click Publish (or Save draft if you prefer to keep it private for now).Source

4. Organize pages into a simple structure

If you already know your structure, you can create subpages. For example, under Services you might have individual service pages.

To make a subpage:

1. Edit the page you want as a subpage (for example, “Web Design”).
2. In the right sidebar, find Page Attributes (or a similar section).
3. Set Parent to the main page (for example, “Services”).
4. Click Update.

What you should see

• On Dashboard ? Pages ? All Pages, a list of your new pages with clear titles.
• Subpages slightly indented under their parent page.

Day 3: Get Comfortable with the Editor

Modern WordPress uses the block editor, which lets you build content with blocks for paragraphs, headings, images, buttons, and more.Source

5. Practice on a “Sandbox” page

Instead of experimenting on your real pages, create a safe practice page:

1. Go to Dashboard ? Pages ? Add New.
2. Title it something like Editor Practice.
3. Add a few blocks:
   • A Heading block for a section title.
   • A Paragraph block with 2–3 sentences.
   • An Image block (upload a sample image or pick from the media library).
   • A Button block linking to your Contact page.
4. Click Save draft (no need to publish this page).

What you should see

• Each block outlined when selected, with a small toolbar above it.
• Block settings in the right sidebar changing when you click different blocks.

Day 4: Check Site Health

WordPress includes a built?in Site Health tool that scans for common configuration, performance, and security issues.Source

6. Run a Site Health check

1. Go to Dashboard ? Tools ? Site Health.
2. Wait a few seconds while WordPress runs its checks.
3. Review the Status tab for any Critical issues or Recommended improvements.Source

How to use the results:

• Critical issues usually need action soon (for example, missing updates or HTTPS problems).
• Recommended improvements are helpful but not emergencies.
• For anything you do not understand, copy the description and send it to your developer or support team.

What you should see

• A status summary like “Good” or “Should be improved.”
• A list of items you can expand for more detail and suggested fixes.

Day 5: Review Themes and Plugins

Your theme controls the overall look and layout of your site. Plugins add specific features such as forms, SEO tools, or caching.

7. Confirm the active theme

1. Go to Dashboard ? Appearance ? Themes.
2. Look for the theme labeled Active.

If Compass Production built your site, you will typically see a modern theme selected and possibly a child theme. Do not switch themes yet; just confirm what is active so you can reference it later if you need support.

8. Scan installed plugins

1. Go to Dashboard ? Plugins ? Installed Plugins.
2. Skim the list and note anything you recognize (forms, SEO, security, caching, page builder, etc.).
3. Look for any plugins marked as needing an update.

Tip: Do not bulk?deactivate or delete plugins in your first week. If something looks unfamiliar, ask your developer before changing it.

What you should see

• Exactly one active theme.
• A manageable list of plugins, ideally without obvious warnings or deactivation notices.

Day 6: Set Up a Safe Editing Routine

Before you start making big content changes, it helps to agree on a simple workflow so you do not accidentally break live pages.

9. Decide where you will practice vs. publish

Use this simple approach:

• Practice pages: drafts only, clearly labeled (for example, “Sandbox – Do Not Publish”).
• Live pages: only edit during low?traffic times, and preview before updating.

To preview changes safely:

1. Edit a page under Dashboard ? Pages.
2. Make your changes in the editor.
3. Click Preview ? Preview in new tab to see how it will look.
4. If everything looks good, click Update.

10. If you use Elementor

If your site uses Elementor for layouts, you will see an Edit with Elementor button on many pages. Use this only on pages that were originally built with Elementor, and avoid switching a page back and forth between Elementor and the block editor.

What you should see

• Clear separation between draft/practice pages and real public pages.
• Confidence using Preview before clicking Update.

Day 7: Plan Your Next Steps

By the end of the first week, you should be able to log in confidently, find your way around, and understand the basic building blocks of your site.

11. Make a short “next 30 days” list

Use what you learned to outline a few priorities:

• Finish writing content for your core pages.
• Decide which team members need access and what roles they should have.Source
• Schedule a monthly reminder to check Tools ? Site Health and apply updates.
• Ask your developer or host about backups and security if they are not already in place.

What “ready for week two” looks like

• You know how to log in and where to find your profile and role.
• You have core pages created, even if they are still drafts.
• You are comfortable adding and editing basic content blocks.
• You have run a Site Health check and understand whether anything needs attention.
• You have a simple plan for what to improve next.

From here, you can move into more advanced topics like navigation menus, SEO basics, and performance tuning, knowing that your foundation is solid.