Are you planning to make a website? As a beginner, creating a website is daunting. This is why we’ve decided to create this comprehensive guide to help you understand how to use WordPress to make a website.
In pochi punti:
What is WordPress?
It is a content management system that allows users to host and build a website. It contains a template system and plugin architecture that allows users to customize their website to fit their online store, portfolio, blog or business.
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In other words, WordPress is an online tool that’s used to build blogs and websites. It’s free, scalable and a feature-rich content management system that enables you to create and edit your website.
More than 40% of people rely on WordPress because it’s easy to use, dependable and powerful.
The Benefits of Using WordPress
People prefer using WordPress for a variety of reasons. Here are a few key benefits of using WordPress:
- It’s user-friendly and adaptable.
- It’s free and doesn’t require a lot of technical knowledge.
- Has a lot of different themes and plugins that you can use to optimise your website.
- Their community is vast which means you get friendly assistance and a wealth of knowledge.
How to Use WordPress to Make a Website
There are several ways to create a beautiful website using WordPress. However, it can feel overwhelming if you’re new to this field. In this section, we will take a closer look to understand how to use WordPress to make a website.
#1. Purchase and Register a Domain Name
You need a domain name and web hosting provider to get started. Think of your domain name as your “address” on the internet. We recommend purchasing it from a dedicated registrar such as GoDaddy.
You will notice that the cost of domains varies. This happens because of factors such as availability. Some names are trending and are, therefore, more expensive. Typically, you can get the domain name for about $20 per year.
Next, choose the web hosting provider. It’s important that you choose your hosting provider carefully as it affects your site’s reliability security and speed.
There are a lot of providers to choose from. Popular examples include Digital Ocean and Bluehost. However, choose the one that meets the following hosting requirements:
- HTTPS support
- MariaDB version 10.1 or greater
- MySQL version 5.6 or greater
- PHP version 7.4 or greater
#2. Install WordPress
You need to install the content management system to connect your domain to your website.
For instance, here’s how you can install WordPress using GoDaddy.
Log in to your GoDaddy account and click Hosting and then click Manage. You’ll see your account details.
Scroll down to Options and Settings and click WordPress in the Popular Apps section to begin the installation process.
Once you are done installing WordPress, answer the questions regarding your domain and admin information.
It generally takes up to 24 hours to complete the installation. GoDaddy will send you the email confirmation.
Once you receive the email, it’s time to set up the “Primary Domain” so that your visitors see your website when they search for the domain name.
Go to My Site in WordPress and click Domains. Select a custom domain you want to set up as your primary domain.
Next, click Primary and click on confirm to make this your primary domain.
A green box with a tick mark will appear once the primary domain is successfully set.
#3. Choose a WordPress Theme
WordPress has a plethora of free and paid themes for you to choose from. There are several visual options, fonts, colours, formatting styles and different layouts of each theme.
An automatic theme is applied by default when you install WordPress. You can continue to use it or change it according to your preference. A custom WordPress theme makes your website look professional and appealing to your target audience.
To customize pages, use a builder tool such as Elementor.
To find a theme that works for you, head to the admin dashboard and click Appearances and Themes.
Browse through the themes and install the theme of your choice. Follow the steps required to finish the customization process.
#4. Add Pages and Posts
Every time you add content to your website it’s displayed in the form of pages and posts.
Dynamic pages or posts are used for portfolios and blogs as they automatically display your latest content on the homepage.
To create a post, click Posts and Add New. add the title of your post, content, photos and change the format. In addition, insert page elements using shortcodes and blocks.
Click Save Draft to save the changes, click Publish to immediately make the post live or Schedule to automatically publish the post later.
#5. Customize Your WordPress Website
Present all your content in a professional manner by customizing your website.
Let’s start by understanding how to customize your WordPress website.
- Set up a static front page. This will be your “Home” page and your blog posts will appear under the “blog” section.
- Change the tagline and title. Use a relevant title and tagline that best describes your website.
- Update comments settings. Avoid being spammed by updating comments settings.
- Create navigation menus. They allow your visitors to browse different sections and pages on your website.
- Create tags and categories. This helps organize content on your website.
#7. Install WordPress Plugins
Plugins are specific software that increases the functionality of your website. In addition, they improve the user experience. There are more than 55,000 WordPress plugins for you to choose from. Here are some of the best WordPress plugins:
- Yoast SEO: A top-rated SEO plugin that’s used to increase rankings. In addition, it helps discover new SEO growth opportunities.
- SeedProd: Drag and drop page builder. It helps create beautiful layouts and custom designs without any technical knowledge.
- MonsterInsights: to help you understand how visitors find your website. In addition, it helps you understand what visitors do once they’re on your website.
- WPForms Lite: It allows you to add a contact form to your site.
- Envira Gallery Lite: Allows you to feature beautiful image galleries.
- WP Super Cache: It helps optimise your website’s speed.
- PushEngage: Seamlessly connect with visitors after they connect leave your website.
- Updraft Plus: Create automatic scheduled backups of your website.
- WooCommerce: Easily set up an online store to sell products.
- WP Mail SMTP: Allows you to fix WordPress email deliverability issues.
#7. Optimize the Website to Increase Page Speed
The speed of your website is a critical part of the user experience. If your website takes too long to load, your visitors will lose interest and move on to another website. Don’t frustrate visitors with a slow website.
Enable browser caching to improve your website’s performance. It’s the process of temporarily storing your website’s data on your visitors’ browsers. This way, your content loads faster.
Install and activate a caching plugin to enable caching for your WordPress website.
#8. Master WordPress
So far you have understood how to use WordPress to make a website. Take it further by creating a website that can do a lot more such as:
- Set up an eCommerce store
- Set up a podcast
- Create a web directory or a membership or a coupons website
- Build a job boards or a reviews website
- Create a Q & A or a wiki knowedgebase website
- Create a multilingual website
5 Common WordPress Mistakes to Avoid
Almost all of WordPress is intuitive but there are some common WordPress mistakes beginners make. Here are a few things to keep in mind to avoid making mistakes:
- Regularly update your WordPress, plugins and themes. This ensures that your website is secure and not at a risk of security vulnerabilities.
- Change your default admin username and set up a strong password. These are the most common points when it comes to security breaches.
- Install plugins you actually need. Uninstall all those plugins that you don’t use.
- Change WordPress’s default settings to customize your site.
- Create a ‘child theme’ to test out design and layout changes for safety reasons. Making changes to the ‘parent’ or live theme can drastically effect your traffic levels.
In Conclusion
Your website is like a business card: it creates a first positive impression and helps generate leads. Therefore, it’s important to have a beautiful website that’s user-friendly and professional.
We hope our guide helped you understand how to use WordPress to make a website.
WordPress is an easy to use CMS that offers customizable options to suit your needs. No prior knowledge is required to build your own website for your online store, portfolio, blog or business.
Still have questions related to how to use WordPress to make a website? Leave them in the comments section below so that we can help you find solutions to your problems.
