In a recent Business Bloomer Club discussion, a member posed an interesting question: should WooCommerce clients who don’t intend to use WordPress’s blogging functions disable them entirely to possibly improve website performance?
Many eCommerce clients prioritize product pages, checkout flows, and support features over blog content, leading to the question of whether maintaining unused blogging functions adds any unnecessary load to the site. Below, we explore options for managing blog functionality in WooCommerce sites and whether disabling it could provide any tangible benefits.
Option 1: Keep the Blog Functions Active (But Hidden)
For many users, leaving blog functionality intact is the simplest approach. Core WordPress blog capabilities don’t significantly impact performance, especially when the site is optimized for WooCommerce. However, hiding these blog features from clients can help declutter the dashboard:
- Hide Blog Elements: Plugins like “Adminimize” allow you to hide posts, categories, and tags from the WordPress dashboard without actually disabling them, keeping the interface clean for non-blogging users.
- SEO Considerations: Using SEO plugins like Yoast, you can prevent blog-related items (like posts and tags) from being indexed by search engines, keeping them out of your site’s SEO footprint.
This approach ensures blog functionality is available if needed in the future without complicating the current setup.
Option 2: Disable Blog Features with Plugins
For a more tailored setup, plugins like “Disable Blog” can turn off blog functionality entirely, removing related features from the WordPress dashboard. This method provides a cleaner user experience but doesn’t offer substantial performance benefits, as the blog’s presence doesn’t significantly burden the website.
- Pros: Simplifies the dashboard and reduces potential distractions.
- Cons: Eliminates the possibility of easily adding blog content later, should the client decide to start blogging.
Option 3: Encourage Blog Use as a Business Asset
Blog content is often a powerful tool for WooCommerce stores, offering SEO and customer engagement benefits. Even if the client initially doesn’t see value in it, you could share insights on how blogs help with organic traffic, brand trust, and product education. Suggesting potential blog topics related to their products may even spark interest in using this feature down the line.
Each approach balances simplicity with flexibility based on client needs. For clients hesitant about blogging, keeping features intact while hiding them in the dashboard offers the best of both worlds, ensuring that WordPress’s blog potential remains available if needed in the future.
