WordPress is a content management system used by around one-third of the world's active websites. There's a good reason for that, too! The platform is very convenient and easy to use. Just how easy, though:
Well, even if you're a complete novice, by following my steps, at the end of this article you'll get a proper set of basic WordPress knowledge! Let's answer the main questions and get you a shiny new set of skills in this WordPress tutorial!
Step 1: Set Things Up
At first, you'll need a hosting provider and a domain name. The process of purchasing the two is actually quite simple. You can check out our website tutorial here to see more. The provider and registrar you choose is entirely up to you - pretty much every company in the world supports WordPress so there is no crucial difference here. However, in this project, we have done a lot of hosting reviews - if you're interested in which provider are the best for your websites, follow the link below.
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Once you choose a provider of your preference and log in, it will be time to visit the panel and actually install WordPress. Some companies may offer you the opportunity to have it installed for a fee - we recommend not taking them up on this offer.
Installing WordPress only takes a couple of minutes and is incredibly simple. The panels of various providers may differ a little bit - but mostly, you'll need to find something called "auto-installer", "applications", or something similar. Sometimes, there will be a direct WordPress button right there in the hosting panel, simplifying things a little further.
At this moment, it's really all about locating the WordPress button. What you see below is a Hostinger panel.
Once you select WordPress, it will be time to install it. Choose the URL you want your website to be in and insert your desired login credentials (username and password). Don't lose them!
Once everything is installed, you should be able to see the program in your list of software.
At this part, it's time to do business. Write your domain name (the same URL you put in the installation menu), followed by "/wp-admin" in the address bar of your browser, so it comes out like this:
yourdomain.com/wp-admin
And go! If everything was fine, the website should look a little bit like this.
If you have just purchased your domain, it might take some time for it to activate, so don't worry if you don't see it yet. When you do and everything works, it will be time for step 2.
Step 2: Know Your Dashboard
A regular WordPress dashboard looks like this:
It consists of a sidebar, which includes all the menu options and the main screen, in which you can adjust everything to your liking. There are several menus which may be useful. I'll quickly explain a few of them.
The "Posts" menu is meant for working with the content of the website. Categories/tags and posts are created here.
This menu is being used to add, remove and in general, manage all the pages on your website. This is where you can adjust your website to have more or less separate zones, each including their own content.
Your project may require more than one person to manage the entire operation. This menu allows you to add, edit or remove additional accounts and change their profiles/permissions.
The "Settings" menu is the center of many things - such as the site title, language, time zones used and many other little gimmicks that don't include content.
But for now, our next step will mostly include these two menus: you can use them to make your website pretty and functional!
Here's how.
Step 3: Visuals and Function
Before even any content comes in, you need to have some sort of vision of your website.
- What kind of a website will it be? A blog? A portfolio? A news outlet?
- Do you expect to sell online?
- What kind of a design are you thinking of? A heavier text-based website, or something modern and relying mostly on visuals?
- Do you expect to need a big amount of SEO optimization to be required?
and so on, and so on...There are questions you have to ask yourself. In many cases, you will need to dig deep and consider the challenges which may arise only several months from now. Preparing ahead and adjusting your website is going to pay serious dividends in the future.
Once you have a vision, it will be time to start working on the design. By default, you will be given a stock website template. At the moment of writing, it is Twenty Seventeen, WordPress' own theme, which is fairly customizable.
You can adjust colors, backgrounds and various elements of the website, straight from the "Appearance" menu.
You can even select to edit how the website will look like on the various platforms.
This theme is quite nice. However, its basic design drives a lot of people away. Luckily, by choosing the "Themes" option in the "Appearance" menu, you will be able to search and install many other amazing templates.
These templates are all suited to different types of websites and can be customized in many different ways. For example, the "Mesmerize" font that I picked here is very useful for beginners, as you can easily edit most of the things directly on the screen. No sidebars needed.
In some cases, you may need to install an extra plugin which helps you to customize the website a little bit better. Install and activate!
As you can see, the editing process becomes a little bit different, as it is adjusted due to the different template and plugins.
Speaking of plugins - they are additional programs (may as well just call them apps!) which can give your website additional features and powers. All of your available plugins are in the "Plugins" menu.
By choosing "Add new" you will be sent to a WordPress library, which sports thousands of programs - for eCommerce, SEO optimization, comments management and much more. It's an incredibly vast library and if you have a vision of what you want, it probably won't be difficult finding tools to achieve that.
Step 4: Build Your Dream! WordPress Tutorial for Beginners is Complete!
At this point, I can't help you with anything other than just encourage you to start. The best way to do something is to actually start doing it. The same is true for a WordPress website. At times, things may appear to look intimidating but there's no better way to reach perfection than to actually make it happen.
By following the tutorials on this website, you should have a basic WordPress page up and running, as well as sport a basic knowledge of the main functions. The rest of the story is in your hands. If you haven't started yet and instead, are still looking for a provider to host a website with, let us help!
Check out our top web hosting reviews, or immediately visit our current #1 rated host. Good luck in making your very own WordPress site!
Interesting Post! thanks!
This was really eye opening. I thought setting up a website was this elaborate schism of events that you had to go to Mars to learn Saturnian and then go to Engineering school to study a newly invented phonetic alphabet. Then take a minor in abstract marketing.
Thanks!