WordPress setup — cleanup, theme, plugins, and page design

Step 1: clean up default content

• Delete dummy posts (Posts).
• Delete dummy pages (Pages).
• Delete pre-installed plugins (Plugins).¹

Step 2: configure settings

• General settings — set the site language for your target audience (e.g. Arabic, Spanish).
• Writing settings — no change needed.
• Reading settings — check "Discourage search engines from indexing this site" while the site is still in development.
• Permalink settings — select "Post name", then save.

Step 3: theme and plugin installation

Kadence theme — Appearance → Themes → Add New → search "Kadence" → Install → Activate; delete unused themes afterward to save space.

Kadence Pro plugin — Plugins → Add New → Upload Plugin → upload the Kadence Pro file → Install → Activate → enter the license key → activate all Pro add-ons.

Kadence Blocks and Kadence Blocks Pro — install the same way (search the plugin directory for Blocks; upload-and-license for Blocks Pro). Keep plugins updated when a new version is available.

Colors and fonts

• Colors can be skipped for now, or left at the theme default.
• Fonts: Typography Settings — recommended options are Poppins, Montserrat, Lato, or Roboto.

Header setup

1. Open the Customizer (top black bar → Customize).
2. In the Header section, edit the logo: upload the logo file, adjust size, remove the title/tagline if not needed, set the site title and tagline (this matters for SEO), and set the site icon (shown in the browser tab and in the SERP).
3. To change the header background: General Settings → Design → Main Row Background, and use the Global Palette to keep the theme's colors consistent.

Keep good contrast between the logo and the header background for visibility.

Footer setup

In the Customizer's Footer section, edit the copyright area's text, and remove the theme credit line ("Powered by Kadence").

Color palette and contrast

• Use a contrast checker (e.g. Coolors) to confirm your color pairing meets accessibility standards.
• Use a color-picker extension (ColorZilla, Eye Dropper) to lift a color code from any site you like.
• Browse brand color palettes (e.g. brandcolor.net) for inspiration.

Avoid: light background with light text, or dark background with dark text. Prefer: light background with dark text, or dark background with light text.

In WordPress: Appearance → Customize → Colors & Fonts → Colors — define up to three palettes, though only one is active at a time. Dark mode is a separate toggle (Appearance → Customize → General → Color Switch) with its own assigned palette, and a dark-mode toggle can be added to the header or footer via the Header/Footer Builder.

Pages, menu, and header layout

Essential pages

Dashboard → Pages → Add New, and create at minimum: About Us, Contact Us, Privacy Policy, Terms & Conditions.

Menu

1. Appearance → Menus → Create a New Menu, name it "Header", and create it.
2. Add the pages created above to this menu, then save.
3. Assign it: Appearance → Customize → Header → Primary Navigation → select the "Header" menu.

Header layout

• Choose a layout type: Standard, Full Width, or Contained.
• Adjust header height with the height slider.
• Set navigation colors for Normal, Hover, and Active states (Design → Navigation Colors).
• Add a button or a search bar via the "+" icon in the Header Builder.

Footer layout

Appearance → Customize → Footer: choose the number of rows (Top, Main, Bottom), add widgets per row ("+" icon: Navigation Menu, Social Icons, Text, Image), and set footer colors per row (Design → Footer Colors).

Post and page layouts

• Row Block → Detail structure suits detailed content presentation.
• Light background with dark text gives the best readability for most content; dark background with light text suits sections needing emphasis.
• Use categories to group related posts, and tags to flag specific topics within them.
• Build static pages (Home, About Us, Contact Us) for the site's core information, mixing text, images, and video for engagement.

Additional tips

• Keep one global color palette consistent across every page.
• Check and adjust every layout for mobile using the Customizer's device preview.
• Fold SEO optimization into layout decisions from the start, rather than retrofitting it later.

Footnotes

1. iSkills SEO course notes, compiled 2025. ↩