How to Code a WordPress Website?
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in use today, and for a good reason. The open-source platform is simple to use and easy to customize, and it’s incredibly flexible. In fact, WordPress is so flexible that it can be used to create an entire website without any help from a developer.
But this flexibility also means that there are a lot of moving parts when it comes to creating a WordPress website. In this article, we will discuss the various steps involved in creating a WordPress website from scratch.
The Basics
First and foremost, you will need a domain name for your website (such as bestplacetobepresent.com). Then, you will need to pick a hosting plan from among the many offered by web hosts such as Bluehost, which we recommend. In addition to hosting, you will need to purchase a WordPress license to use the CMS. Finally, you will need to install WordPress on your hosting account.
Step 2: Design
From a clean slate, you will need to start styling your new website. There are many different approaches to designing a WordPress website, and you will have to make a choice regarding how much you want to customize the appearance and how much you want to leave to chance. If you are a designer who likes to plan things out, you can start by creating a mood board, paper prototype, or even an interactive wireframe.
We recommend starting with a mood board or paper prototype as a method for planning out the look and feel of your website. Creating a mood board can be a very visual process, and it allows you to see how different elements such as color and layout combine to form a unique and cohesive aesthetic. You can upload your mood board to WordPress and share it with your team.
Next, you can take this draft design and bring it to life with a paper prototype. While we appreciate the unique perspective a printed paper prototype provides, nothing beats being able to see the design live on a computer screen. Having a digital copy allows you to make changes quickly and efficiently and determine with confidence whether or not those changes will make a difference before you start cutting and pasting. In addition to paper prototypes, you can use tools like Balsamiq Mockups or Adobe Photoshop to design your WordPress website with dummy content.
Step 3: Content
Once you have a nice-looking template in place, you can start populating it with content. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be using a free blogging platform known as Blogger to host our blog. You can use any type of content you want for your blog, as long as it’s legal (citation needed).
While it is possible to use WordPress to create a professional-looking site without any content at all, it’s not the best idea. We recommend using a tool like Jekyll, which is a static site generator that can be used to quickly and easily populate your blog with content. Jekyll makes it easy to generate your own professional looking site with a blog featuring any type of content you want (such as product reviews or blog posts with useful tips).
Once you have your blog set up with some content, it’s time to start adding more value to the platform. It is always a good idea to add interviews with prominent individuals in your industry, case studies, or even just blog posts with useful tips or advice. As you get more and more comfortable using WordPress, you can start expanding into different areas of knowledge such as marketing, sales, or even management.
Step 4: Functionality
Now that your site has some content, you can start adding more functionalities. With a CMS like WordPress, adding features is as simple as editing a handful of text files and updating the database. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be adding a blog comment form to the site.
The most basic form of blogging will just involve adding a comment box at the end of each blog post. While this isn’t bad, it can get rather boring from a user’s standpoint. An interactive commenting feature allows for more flexibility and adds a layer of complexity to your project. You can use different types of forms (such as RSS, email subscription, or even a custom form using an HTML5 framework like Foundation) to allow for more interaction between website visitors and bloggers.
Step 5: Marketing
Once you have your website launched, it’s time to start marketing it. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will be adding a bit more sophistication to our marketing plan by using Google Adsense to display advertisements on our site. It is important to note that while this is a completely free service, it does come with some limitations. For example, you can’t promote gambling or adult-related products or services.
If you want to continue using Google Adsense, the first thing you will need to do is grab a Google account. Then, you can create a new ad unit and choose the niche you want to specialize in (such as web design or SEO). Once you make the swap, you will need to tell Adsense which domain to target (usually the main website domain).
From a marketing standpoint, a WordPress website is extremely simple to setup and can be used to create a professional-looking portfolio. And since it’s open source, you can always find the source code and customize it to suit your needs. If you decide that this approach is suitable for your needs, you can pick a free template from Themeforest, which we’ve linked below.
Final Thoughts
With the basics out of the way, you can move onto the next steps. While there are many different approaches to creating a WordPress website, this process will be easier to follow if you use the basics laid out in this article.
If you found this article valuable, be sure to check out our guide to Getting Started with WordPress, which will walk you through the basics of using the platform and introduce you to some of its most useful features.