How to Create a Website (Not a Blog) with WordPress
WordPress started out as a simple blogging tool, but it has since grown into a Content Management System (CMS) that can be used to create any type of website. Thanks to the fact that it’s free and open source, anyone can download it and use it to create a website. To help you get started, we’ve put together this detailed guide which will teach you everything you need to know about creating a WordPress website, including tips on how to optimize your content for the search engines.
Step one: Get a domain name and install WordPress
As we mentioned above, WordPress started out as a simple blogging tool, and still very much functions as such. To create a WordPress website, you first need to get a domain name for your site and install WordPress on the web server. To do this, you can use companies like Bluehost, which offer shared hosting to get started. Alternatively, you can use a free WordPress.org account with a free domain name (like wpthemedev.com) and install the WordPress software on your computer.
Installing WordPress manually is a complicated process, so if you’re not comfortable with basic computer tasks, it’s recommended to choose a managed WordPress hosting plan from Bluehost or WP Engine, which include installing WordPress for you.
Step two: Create your WordPress site
Once you’ve installed WordPress on your web server, you can start by creating your site and filling it with content.
To do this, navigate to your site’s dashboard in your web browser and click on the “Add New” button in the upper-right corner. You’ll then be taken to the Add New Post screen, where you can start typing the content for your new post.
To make your content more engaging and hopefully draw in more visitors from search engines, it’s advisable to use both Head and H1 tags for every post’s heading and the main content itself.
Once you’ve published the post, you can preview it in your dashboard and make any necessary adjustments (like images or the layout). If everything looks good, you can hit the “Publish” button to make the post available to the public. Don’t worry, changes you make to your site will be saved automatically.
WordPress comes with several pre-made templates you can use to get started with your site. Simply click on the “Template” link in your site’s dashboard to view the list of available WordPress templates. You can choose from many different themes, which will determine the appearance of your site. To get the best performance from your site, it’s advisable to opt for the most used theme out there, which is arguably Twenty Nineteen, a free theme from the WordPress repository.
Step three: Use the Widget Areas to add interactive elements
The interface of your dashboard will be slightly different, but it’s still very much a WordPress site. You’ll see squares, circles and other graphical widgets that extend the functionality of your site. For example, you can use the Widgets button in your dashboard’s sidebar to add a “Recent Posts” widget to the area on the right side of your page. This will display the last X posts published on your site.
You can click on any of these graphical elements to view more information about it in your dashboard’s sidebar. You can use these areas to add interactive elements to your site, like buttons, links and more.
Step four: Use the site’s settings to configure the look & feel of your site
If you’re comfortable with computers, you can go back to your site’s dashboard and click on the three dots next to the General link in the sidebar. From here, you can access your site’s settings and make any necessary adjustments to its design and appearance.
As a WordPress user, you can design your site with the help of hundreds of free Google Fonts and change the background color and font of your text to fit any theme you choose. You can also use the Settings button in your dashboard’s sidebar to view the site’s plugins, which you can activate to extend the functionality of your site even more.
Step five: Promote your site on social media channels
To draw more visitors to your site, you can promote it on social media channels like Twitter and Facebook. You can use these platforms to grow your audience and engage with potential customers.
Once you’ve installed the Jetpack plugin for WordPress, you can integrate social media buttons on your site. When visitors click on these buttons, they’ll be taken to their social media platforms and an ad will be displayed.
This brings us to our next point: adverts on your site. You can use the Google Adsense plugin for WordPress, which automatically displays ads when you visit a wordpress.com or a different domain name that uses WordPress, like wpthemedev.com. You won’t see ads on your mobile device or tablet, but they’ll be displayed on your computer’s or laptop’s screen when you visit a WordPress website.
Step six: Use analytics to track your site’s performance
Last but not least, we come to analytics. You can use Google Analytics to track the performance of your site. To set it up, navigate to your site’s dashboard in your web browser and click on the Google Analytics button on the right side of your screen. From here, you can set up a free account and start tracking the performance of your website.
Once you’ve set it up, you can go back to your website’s dashboard and click on the three dots next to the General link in the sidebar. From here, you can access analytics for your website.
As mentioned above, WordPress started out as a simple blogging tool, but it has since grown into a Content Management System (CMS) that can be used to create any type of website. Thanks to the fact that it’s free and open source, anyone can download it and use it to create a website. To help you get started, we’ve put together this detailed guide which will teach you everything you need to know about creating a WordPress website, including tips on how to optimize your content for the search engines.