How to create a WordPress website
HOW TO CREATE A WEBSITE WITH WORDPRESS IN 6 SIMPLE STEPS
We have to remember that WordPress is a Content Management System that’s built with PHP. PHP is a server-side language, which means that it runs on your web hosting server. Whenever someone visits your website, their browser contacts your server to request the page. That’s before we get to the practical part of how to create a website with WordPress.
WordPress is a platform that is simple to use and flexible to suit small businesses, corporations, and individuals. It’s also good for people who want to create personal websites.
Here is the question: why choose WordPress among so many platforms available for it?
WHY DO PEOPLE PREFER WORDPRESS?
First, it becomes difficult to create a website from scratch if you lack enough programming knowledge.
You don’t need to know HTML, CSS, or any other programming language to create a website using the WordPress platform.
WordPress even provides free security updates to its users. And, unlike other CMSs, it gives you the freedom to make fast changes.
WordPress gives you plugin options to test the functionality and the performance of your website.
What you’ll need to begin creating a WordPress website can be inexpensive. The majority, if not all, of the software you will use, will be free.
Many of the free plugins have paid alternatives, and depending on what you’re trying to do, it may be worthwhile to get those.
They can save you a lot of time. Since they’re for commercial use, they usually have support departments to assist you if you run into problems. Something you don’t always get with free plugins. You can’t expect them to pay people to support the software if they’re giving it away for free!
The following are what you’ll need to build your WordPress website:
RESEARCH YOUR NICHE: You’ll need a clear, well-researched understanding of your target market. You also need to know what you’re attempting to build.
DOMAIN NAME: This is the name of your website. For example, tradmill.co.uk is our domain name in this case.
HOSTING: This is a place that houses all your files, data, videos, audio, etc. In short, the hosting company hosts all the files that make up your website.
WORDPRESS: It’ll most likely include your hosting package. If it doesn’t, you can download it for free at WordPress.org.
WORDPRESS THEME: A free or paid theme to style your website and give it the desired look and feel.
WORDPRESS PLUGIN: Plugins help to increase the functionality of your website and help WordPress do what you want.
The most important thing you’ll need is a clear idea of what you’re trying to do.
You also have to look at who your target audience is, how you want your website to look, how it’ll fit together, and what content you expect to have.
WHAT KIND OF WEBSITES CAN I BUILD WITH WORDPRESS?
When this powerful CMS is combined with a thriving open-source community, the possibilities are endless.
You can create the most simple or complex websites by using WordPress to create them. Any website you’ve ever visited could be, and most likely is, a result of WordPress.
Having said that, you will be able to create any type of website you need or desire. There are many types of websites available on the internet today. But the vast majority of website variations belong to different categories.
WordPress allows you to create any type of website you want.
In the following parts of this article, we’ll look at how to create a WordPress Website.
Lets’ start with a few examples of website types that you can create with WordPress:
Blogs
WordPress was originally designed as a blogging tool, but it has evolved since its start.
It’s many of the best blogging solutions and templates. And any serious blogger looking to build a thriving blog community should use this platform.
1. Membership Website
Do you want to create a membership program where you can grant readers different levels of access?
Do you want to charge a higher price for your content or products? There’re many free and paid WordPress solutions for converting your website into a membership site.
2. Ecommerce Websites
Do you want to sell a product online? This type of website is ideal for selling both physical and digital goods. With WordPress, you can create a secure billing information system, manage orders, and create product listings.
3. Portfolio Sites
This type of website is excellent for displaying one’s work or portfolio. It’s ideal for artists, musicians, creative agencies, and anyone who wants to showcase his work. This can be in the form of images, videos, websites, campaigns, and more.
4. Business Website
There’s a need for your company to have an online presence. Are customers looking for your company or the services you offer on the internet?
This is the right time to capture these customers. Do this by developing an easy-to-use website that includes your company’s vital information.
STEP 1: REGISTER YOUR DOMAIN NAME
I’m assuming that everyone understands what a domain name is. If you’re among those who don’t, it’s the address that people type in to get to your website.
In a nutshell, your website’s domain is its name. That’s what people type into their browser’s address bar before finding your website.
The domain name is crucial because it’ll define your brand. Facebook.com, Games.com, and Wikipedia itself are examples of successful domain names. As a result, you’ve to be careful when choosing your brand name!
There’re many best practices for choosing a domain that applies to any business, industry, or idea.
While there may be extra guidelines for selecting a domain based on the type of website you create. Everyone should stick to these basic guidelines.
If at all possible, buy a domain that ends in .com. Domain names that end in .com are often more memorable. It makes it easier for visitors to remember and return to your website.
After you’ve decided on a domain name, you’ll see some registration options.
Before you begin developing your website, you must decide which domain you’ll use to publish it on the internet. You can register your domain on any reputable web hosting company. But our suggestion is ……..
WORDPRESS.COM
When you create a website with WordPress.com, you have the option of using a free WordPress subdomain.
Assume the name of your website is Bestdeals, your free domain name now becomes bestdeals.wordpress.com.
Yet, it’s better for your brand if your domain is unique, such as Bestdeals.com.
And that now takes us to:
WORDPRESS.ORG
WordPress.org was founded in 2003 and is the home of blogging software. You’ve to download and install it before you can use it to create your WordPress website.
The software is continuously under development and is open-source. What this means is that anyone can use and change it, to suit his desire.
It claims to be the largest self-hosting blogging tool in the world.
What gave birth to WordPress is that the good people at Automatic, the company behind WordPress, wanted to bring their open-source blogging software to a broader audience.
Such audiences include those with no technical skills but only need a blog. That’s the genesis of WordPress.com.
On WordPress.org, you must register a paid domain,
Choosing a domain name is not difficult; but, if the desired address is already in use, you should have a backup plan.
Here are some best practices for choosing a domain name if you want to create a website with WordPress.
• Include your brand or name;
• Don’t make it too long;
• Choose a name that’s easy to remember; and
• If possible, use a keyword or terms related to what your site is all about.
If you run into any problems, you can rely on the various domain generators available on the internet to test suggestions that may be of interest.
STEP 2: HOST YOUR WEBSITE
You need a hosting plan before you’re able to install WordPress.
If you are unsure which plan to select and this is your first website, I recommend that you use a shared hosting plan. This plan is suitable for the majority of websites and is the most affordable option.
Hosting serves as a location for your website’s files, information, and pages. Also, you need a server for the operation of any web address because it’s a place where all your files will stay.
There are several types of hosting available, including shared, dedicated, cloud, and VPS.
• Shared hosting: This is the most common type of hosting. Several sites share the same server in it, resulting in the best cost-benefit ratio on the market.
• Cloud: It’s much like shared hosting, but the server uses the cloud system.
• Dedicated: A server is a server that’s solely dedicated to your website. It’s the best for high-visibility sites.
Cloud hosting is the best choice for larger sites because, unlike shared hosting, when one server fails, the hosted site is moved to another. That is, without jeopardizing the user experience.
STEP 3: INSTALL WORDPRESS
Before installing WordPress, ensure that
With the hosting server properly chosen, you’ll have access to the dashboard. Depending on which service you chose, you need to look for where to install WordPress.
During the installation process, it is important to pay attention to some details. One of the important details is the folder where you will install WordPress.
If you’re going to install it in the root or the public HTML, leave the field blank space, but if you’re going to make a blog use the path /blog/.
It is also important to pay attention to the login and password. Always use a difficult password for the security of your site. Then choose the desired language for your WordPress, otherwise, it’ll remain in English.
Let’s now install WordPress on GoDaddy.
1. GoDaddy Account Login
2. Click My Account in the top right corner.
3. Click on My Account.
4. Go to Manage > Web Hosting.
5. Choose a Domain.
6. Set up cPanel.
Create your:
1. Username
2. Password
To access the cPanel homepage, click Get Started after the site has been installed.
7. Select WordPress Blog from Web Applications.
8. Click Install This App.
9. Fill in the blanks.
Change nothing that isn’t on this list.
In the location section, set it to http://www.yourdomain.com.
Leave the Directory blank and if there’s any text in there, delete it
Settings Section: Create your admin username. (This is your Website Admin Username.)
Create your admin password. (This is your Website Admin Password.)
Admin Email: Enter your email.
Name your website here. You can change it later.
Add one to six-word tagline to your website.
10 – Click the Install Button
Press the install button at the bottom of the page.
You’ve just installed WordPress on GoDaddy!
11. Go to your live site to see what it looks like!
As you can see, we’ve made a lot of progress.
So, let’s get into the next step
STEP 4: INSTALL YOUR THEMES
At first, you could leave the site’s visual appearance alone and focus on the content.
The implication of doing this is that your site will look like every website online.
Also, many free WP themes are available that provide lots of personalisation and customization and allow each site to be unique.
Use the following steps to add a WP theme of your choice to your website.
Log into your WordPress dashboard,
Look through the “Appearance” section
Click on themes
Select the “Add New” button
To install free website themes from the WordPress.org theme directory, search for the theme by name and click the “Install” button.
If it’s a premium theme, click the “Upload Theme” button and then upload the theme ZIP file that you purchased.
After installing your preferred theme, click “Activate,” and the blog theme will be active on your blog site.
How about that?
Customizing Your WordPress Theme
Themes on your WordPress blog are customizable. You can use the WordPress Customizer to change the designs of blog themes to suit your tastes. Simply follow the steps below to complete this task:
Navigate to “Appearance” and click “Customize.” Make changes to your chosen theme using the options on the left side of the screen.
You can see a preview of the modified themes on the right side of your screen.
After you’ve made your changes, click “Save and Publish.”
STEP 5: INSTALL PLUGINS
One of the benefits of WordPress is that it’s constantly adding new features. They regularly update their plugins and widgets. And they are the ones you will use to optimize and personalize your site even further.
There’re many WordPress plugins you can install to enhance the functionality of your site. They include social sharing buttons, contact forms, newsletter subscription boxes, and other features.
If you want to optimize your site for SEO, you will also need plugins. You can, for example, use Yoast SEO or Rank Math SEO to write more optimized articles.
First, let’s go over how to install the plugins:
1. Go to Plugins>Add New in the Dashboard;
2. Search for the plugin you want in the search tab;
3. Click Install. Don’t forget to turn on the plugin!
The WordPress Dashboard
Now that you’ve successfully created your blog, it’s time to look into the WordPress dashboard and learn how the CMS works.
The dashboard is straightforward. Pay close attention to the panel’s left column. You will see the following options:
• Dashboard: The home page of WordPress that displays information such as available updates and recent activity.
• Posts: the ability to create and edit posts, tags, and categories.
• Media: to manage your blog’s entire media library, such as photos and videos;
• Pages: to create and edit pages (as opposed to posts);
• Comments: to manage your blog’s reader comments;
• Appearance: the ability to select and customize themes, menus, and widgets;
• Plugins: WordPress has a vast library of plugins available to help you improve the functionality of your blog.
• Users: to manage the various authors that a blog can have, as well as their permissions;
• Tools: control features such as importing a database and exporting a site for migration.
• Settings: General blog tweaks like URL structure, time zone, date and time structure, homepage setting, and other critical settings.
Ready! You now know everything there is to know about WordPress and are therefore prepared to begin your business journey. However, keep in mind that to achieve good results with your website, you must constantly research SEO.
STEP 6: WRITE YOUR FIRST BLOG POST
Now that you know how to create a WordPress website, it’s time to start blogging!
We’ll show you how to update your blog’s appearance. Now let’s look at how simple it is to start blogging on your new website.
To start blogging:
Lon into your WordPress dashboard.
Hover over “Post” and click “Add New.”
Making a new post in WordPress
This will open the WordPress Editor, where you can write posts using a simple block system.
Just click and type to add text. You can also add other content, like an image, audio, or a YouTube video as new “blocks.”
Follow our detailed guide above to create a WordPress Website for yourself or your clients.
Don’t hesitate to contact us, if you want a special touch to your website or if you want a new site created from scratch.
Are there any content marketing challenges our team can help you resolve?
If your business needs a digital transformation or any digital online advice, you should go ahead and get in touch with Tradmill Digital Marketing. You will fall in love with the results that these specialists can offer you in the long run! Call us on 07818 406870 or email us at paul@tradmill.co.uk
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