Are you one of those individuals who want to have your WordPress website but don’t know how to create one? There’s no need to worry. This guide got you covered! Allow this post to present you a step by step guide on how to make a website using WordPress.
No matter if you are considering creating a blog, a business website, or an ecommerce store, WordPress is the perfect option for you. However, if you are a beginner to WordPress, everything could easily become complicated and confusing for you. This is the main reason why we have created this guide to help you create your dream website.
Now, without further ado, let’s get started! Let’s begin with the detailed process of building a website.
Set Up WordPress
You will need to go to the Browser Website in a new window and go to our WordPress Hosting page. Select from the available packages and click add to cart. The next screen will ask you to choose a new domain name (website name), or a free subdomain. Please note that your unique domain name looks something like: myawesomewebsite.com where as the free subdomain name could be something like this: myawesomewebsite.hostingcompany.com.
After the domain name is chosen, click next.
Give your account information like name, address, email, etc.
Add your payment information to complete the purchase.
You’ll then get an email on how to login to your cPanel (web hosting control panel). Take note that it’s your hosting dashboard where you handle everything, such as emails, support, etc.
Install WordPress
Once you are logged into cPanel, scroll down to the website section in cPanel and click the WordPress icon. You’ll see Quick Install Screen for WordPress. Click the button Get Started to continue.
You’ll then be requested to choose a domain name where you like to install WordPress. Pick a domain from the dropdown field and hit Next.
Enter your admin username, website name, and a password for your site.
Make sure you check each of the checkboxes on the screen. Click Install to continue.
Quick Install will begin installing WordPress on your site. After it’s done, a message will appear in the top header.
Hit the Installation Complete, and it will bring you to the screen along with your login URL and password.
Go over to the login page and the login URL is similar to this one: http://www.yourdomain.com/wp-admin.
Login to your WordPress site via the username and password you created earlier.
Choose your Theme
You can replace your website theme from the WordPress dashboard. Head over the Appearance > Themes page and hit on the Add New.
You can choose from nearly five thousand free WordPress themes accessible in the WordPress.org themes directory. If you are struggling to choose, you can easily sort them by featured, latest, popular, and other feature filters.
After you picked the theme, click on the Install button. You can also modify it by clicking on the Customize link located below the Appearance section.
Add Content
You will begin by including several pages to your website. Go over to Pages > Add New in the admin section. Give a title for your page. This will be your ‘Home.”
You can add content in the text editor below. There, you can now add links, pictures, audios, embed videos, texts, and images, among others.
Click then Publish to make it live.
Just repeat the entire process if you want to add more sections to your site.
To add a blog post, go over to Posts > Add New in the WordPress admin section.
There, you could add a post title and add content in the visual post editor. Options such as tags, categories, and post formats are available too.
Click Save to save your post as a draft. Hit Publish, so it’s visible on your WordPress website.
Customize your Website
Here are some steps to modify your website:
- Set up a static front page. Go to Settings > Reading in your WordPress admin section. Click on the Static Front Page located in the Front Page Displays. Choose Pages you made earlier for your blog and home pages. Click Save Changes to keep your changes.
- Change website title and tagline. You can do this by going to Settings > General. Then click Save Changes.
- Comment settings. Go to Settings > Discussions and scroll down Before a comment appears Click the box next to Comment must be manually approved. Then click Save Changes.
- Make navigation menus. Head over to Appearance > Menus. Input a name for your navigation menu and hit the Create Menu Choose the pages you like to appear in the menu and then hit Add to Menu.
You’ll see your chosen pages filling the empty section of the navigation menu. You could move them up and down to reorganize their position in the menu.
Choose a display location. Click on the Save Menu to preserve your navigation menu.
Install Plugins
Plugins for WordPress are like apps, allowing you to add features to your website. Below are some of the plugins you can consider.
For security
- Sucuri for site security
- Updraft Plus for automatic scheduled backups
For website optimization
- WB Super Cache for site speed
- Yoast SEO for improving SEO
For features
- MonsterInsights for connecting your site with Google Analytics
- Envira Gallery Lite for adding image galleries
- WPForms Lite for adding contact form
Perfect your WordPress Site
At this stage, you are now done creating your WordPress site. The last and final step is for you to master it. But how? The internet is loaded with thousands of resources you can check, or better yet, follow our blog to find even more tips.
Conclusion
There you have it! We are pretty certain you should have made an awesome WordPress website for free by following the easy steps discussed in this guide.
Building the perfect website is not a simple task to do, nor is it a done deal. The perfect website needs time and continuous work to keep it that way.
If you find this tutorial helpful, feel free to share it to some of your friends too!