How to build a WordPress site for beginners
Setting up your WordPress website can seem like an utterly difficult task if you have never done anything like it before. Fortunately, one of the best things about WordPress is that it is very easy to use and you can go step by step completing your site on the platform. You do not need to be an expert to do it, just a little common sense and intuition.
While the technical part of setting up a WordPress website isn’t complicated, knowing what to put on your website and how to make it work for your business can be.
Nevertheless, before we get to the steps, let’s clarify what a WordPress website is, why to choose it, and what to consider before you start creating a WordPress website.
What is a WordPress website?
WordPress is a free and open source CMS (Content Management System) written in PHP, combined with a MySQL/MariaDB database. In the simplest terms, WordPress is a free and open platform, a website builder, where you can create simple and easy websites for your businesses and blogs, and best of all, it’s mostly completely free, which makes it more attractive.
There are many features in WordPress, including templates where you can simply enter your information and create a website, plugins, and many more, as well as having an interface that is very easy to use and guides you step by step.
There are other ways to build websites, but WordPress has always been the most popular and widely used open source platform to create websites. You might wonder why so many people choose WordPress over any other platform. Simple, WordPress includes everything in a single platform, unique and free designs, hosting, improvements, updates, everything, absolutely everything that a user could want within a site to create web pages, which is why WordPress is one of the favorite options of users worldwide.
How to build a WordPress website?
There are 10 easy steps to get started with WordPress. Just follow them, and your website will be up and running in no time.
Step 1: Define your site.
Before doing anything related to WordPress, you need to choose your niche. Trying to build a WordPress website about something that has been done 10,000 times will not be beneficial. If your WordPress site isn’t for an existing business, make sure you choose a theme that really interests you so it does not feel like a chore to update your site now or months later.
Step 2: Choose a domain name.
Your domain name should be directly related to the niche you chose in step 1, and it should be a name that is so easy for users to remember that they will never forget it. Doing keyword research can also be helpful. Stuck on a particular name but .com is taken? Try .net or any other possible option, don’t stop because of that, what matters is that you can have the name you want for your website.
Step 3: Get web hosting.
The next step is to find a reliable web server to manage your site, it can be a shared hosting or one just for your website, it will depend on the capital you have to start.
Shared web hosting will work out fine in most cases, and is very popular with WordPress users. You can do some research on this and see which one best suits your requirement, there are many companies for this, so you can choose to go with whoever you wish.
Step 4: Install WordPress.
Now, once you have found your web host and domain name, it’s time to install WordPress and get going. Installing it is not difficult at all, you can go step by step with the installer, which will tell you everything you have to do.
Step 5: Choose your WordPress theme.
Next, you need to decide on a theme for your WordPress site. There are thousands upon thousands of themes available, ranging from completely free to hundreds of dollars. When selecting your theme, try to make sure it makes sense for both the theme of your site, and the design and content you plan to publish.
Among the premium WordPress theme options, you will find a set of options ready to use for various themes. These include business, services, beauty, fashion, photography, education, food, and many others. Each of them can become an excellent foundation for the site you have always dreamed of.
Step 6: Install the WordPress plugins.
A WordPress plugin is a program written in the PHP scripting language that adds specific features or services to a WordPress website. WordPress plugins provide a great amount of customization and flexibility to your WordPress site, as well as valuable features and tools for your visitors.
You may not start out with many plugins, but the longer you use WordPress, the more benefits you will find for your site. Some can help you position yourself on the web with the help of SEO, so they can be very useful in your day to day on WordPress.
Step 7: Complete your administrative pages.
Important pages include your contact page, about you page, privacy page, and disclaimer page. Get them out of the way before you focus on adding content to your site; after all, it’s easier to add them now than later, when you’ve finished posting all the other more exciting stuff. These pages will also serve to protect you and your site visitors.
Step 8: Publish your WordPress site.
After publishing the important administrative pages, it’s time to start adding interesting content. Whatever your niche is, you want to make sure you include a lot of quality content for your readers. Make your pages visually rich, and also make it a priority to keep adding new content regularly. If you blog, add at least one image to each post. Not only does this give your readers something to share on social media, but it also makes your content more engaging. Whether you decir to add content daily, weekly, or monthly, creating a content calendar will help you keep on track.
Step 9: Don’t forget about marketing!
Marketing your new site is a two-pronged effort. First, SEO (Search Engine Optimization): Make sure your pages have relevant keywords in the title, description, and body copy. Second, take the time to promote your site in any way possible. Free options include using social media networking site forums and sending regular email newsletter. You can also consider guest posting and commenting on blogs, forums, and communities to build your social connections and link popularity.
Step 10: Back up your website
Your content is your most valuable asset, so make sure you back up your site! For your blog, that means backing up your content in the event of a crash, so you don’t have to start over. If you don’t back up your posts, plugins, and affiliate links, it might take a while for you to get back on your feet. If you don’t have time to back up your site regularly, your web host should offer you an alternative.
It’s done! You are ready to create your WordPress website now. We want you to be encouraged to do so and share the URL of your site with us so that our entire community knows you and your start-up or business. Do you dare?