WordPress issues
Every WordPress finding Crawl Cove's crawler checks for, each with an example finding and a step-by-step fix.
Auditing the whole site? Start with our step-by-step WordPress SEO audit guide.
These checks only run when Crawl Cove finds a WordPress site, because each is a WordPress default or a WordPress-specific exposure rather than a general SEO problem. On any other platform the same symptoms, if they exist, show up under the general checks instead.
Two are about search. Default permalinks leave every post on a ?p=123 address instead of a readable slug, and images inserted without width and height make the page jump as it loads, which counts against Cumulative Layout Shift.
Three are about exposure. An open uploads directory listing lets anyone browse every file you have uploaded, a publicly reachable XML-RPC interface is a common target for brute-force and DDoS attempts, and the generator meta tag advertises your exact WordPress version to anyone looking for sites on an old one.
Each page shows the fix, and where switching a feature off has a cost, such as Jetpack relying on XML-RPC, it says so.
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Low severity
WordPress Default Permalinks (?p=N URLs)
A WordPress site still using ?p=N URLs instead of descriptive slugs. What it costs you, why it happens, and how to switch permalink structure safely.
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Low severity
WordPress Images Missing Width and Height
WordPress images with no explicit width or height, the layout jump they cause as the page loads, and how to fix it for images already published.
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Medium severity
Open Uploads Directory Listing on WordPress
/wp-content/uploads/ returning a browsable file list on a WordPress site. What it exposes, why servers do this by default, and how to close it off.
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Low severity
WordPress Generator Tag Exposing Your Version
The exact WordPress version, advertised in a meta tag anyone can view. What it means, why it helps attackers, and how to remove it for free.
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Medium severity
WordPress XML-RPC: Disable xmlrpc.php?
WordPress's XML-RPC interface responding publicly. What it means, why it is a common brute-force and DDoS vector, and how to disable it safely.
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