Revolution Slider WordPress Website Builder – What You Need to Know
With WordPress becoming the world’s #1 content-management system, it’s a great time to be a content creator or manager. Not only can you build a profitable website with a few clicks, but you can also use WordPress to power your company’s social media presence. Want to create a profitable website but don’t know where to start? Or maybe you’ve got a successful website that you’d like to take to the next level? Want to use WordPress to power your social media accounts? Read on to find out everything you need to know about setting up a WordPress website, including links to helpful resources.
The Largest Content-Management System
WordPress is the largest content-management system not just in Europe but in the world. It’s used by millions of websites across the globe and is considered the ‘gold standard’ when it comes to creating a professional-looking website.
The most popular CMS, Joomla, which is also free, has over 500 million active users. While it’s a great solution for anyone who needs something basic, if you’re looking for a more customized experience, you might want to consider WordPress.
Why Should You Use WordPress?
Let’s take a quick look at the best reasons why you should use WordPress:
- Progressive web design
- Fully customizable
- Massive community support
- Excellent for SEO
- A great alternative to expensive CMSs
- Simple to use
- Popular & easy to find
- FREE!
- …and the list goes on
WordPress, which is an acronym for the “Web Content Manager”, was initially created as a way of easing the publishing process for web designers. Back in the day, creating a website required a lot of technical knowledge and a lot of trial and error. Thanks to WordPress, creating a professional site is as simple as 1-2-3:
- Pick a theme.
- Add or change content.
- Optional: Add a plug-in (a feature that enhances the site’s functionality).
- Activate the theme.
Most importantly, you don’t have to worry about hosting. WordPress is extremely flexible and robust enough to run off almost any web host. Plus, as a content-creator or manager, you’ll have access to tons of premium tools that can help you optimize your content and take your site to the next level.
What Is WordPress SEO?
Search engine optimization, otherwise known as SEO, is the process of enhancing your website’s organic search ranking in Google. The higher your site’s ranking, the more likely your content will be found by web users when they’re searching for relevant information online.
You can use a variety of methods, such as on-site SEO and off-site SEO, to rank your website in Google. On-site SEO is the process of optimizing your site’s content, including keywords, SEO-friendly URLs, and more. Off-site SEO involves getting noticed by search engines through strategies such as link building, content placement, and SEO-friendly blogging.
To find out more about SEO, check out this guide from the SEO company Witek.
What Is Link Building?
The process of getting other websites to link to your website is called link building. There are two basic types of link building: Internal Link Building and External Link Building.
If you want to improve your site’s SEO, you need to focus on internal link building. This involves creating links to other related content on your site. For example, if you’re writing an article about smartphones, you might want to include a link to the best camera apps for smartphones.
External link building, which we mentioned above, is the process of earning links from other websites. Google recommends against building links to low-quality websites. So, if you want to improve your site’s SEO, you might want to consider using a tool to find quality, relevant websites that are linked to your web content.
WordPress comes with a built-in SEO feature that helps you plan out your link building strategy. You can use this feature to find and work with other websites that are related to your niche.
WordPress Themes & Plugins To Consider
As we mentioned above, WordPress is a completely open-source platform and offers a massive repository of themes and plugins that you can use to build your site.
Themes are like the paint on a canvas. They set the visual appeal and the overall style of your site. While plugins are more like tools that can enhance the functionality of your site. Let’s take a quick look at both.
Themes
There are many reasons why you might want to consider using a theme for your site. Let’s take a quick look at some of the most popular ones:
- Professional Appearance
- User-Friendly
- Flexible
- Extensive Documentation
- …and the list goes on
Among the most popular themes are the ones from Themeforest.net. Even if you’re just getting started, you can find a reliable theme that will help you get the basic look and feel of a professional site.
From the above list, it’s clear that using a theme is an easy way to improve your site’s look without having to code. The best part is that you can find and download themes for almost any industry.
If you’d like, you can find a reliable theme that’s completely customizable and has a drag-and-drop interface called Elementor. With Elementor, you can build a fully functioning site in just a few hours. Plus, if you’re looking for a premium experience, you can afford it. With Elementor, you have access to an amazing community of people who are ready to help you build the perfect website.
When choosing a theme, make sure that the design is mobile-friendly and easy to navigate on various devices (i.e. smartphones, tablets, and laptops). Also, take into consideration that not all themes are made equal. Some themes are more reliable than others when it comes to being mobile-friendly and having the basic functionalities needed for a working site.
Plugins
WordPress also has a massive repository of its own plugins that can help you take your site to the next level. Like themes, plugins are tools that can enhance the functionality of your site. Here are some of the most popular plugins:
- Contact Form 7 (a contact form plugin)
- WP Smart Cache (a caching plugin)
- Akismet (anti-spam plugin)
- WP GDPR Data Protection plugin
- …and the list goes on
These plugins can help you take your site’s functionality to the next level. For example, the Contact Form 7 plugin allows you to create email forms that can be used to contact you or your company for more information. The WP Smart Cache plugin allows you to speed up your site by caching certain data, such as articles and images, which in turn makes them more accessible to your readers. Plus, the Akismet plugin catches spam before it even hits your inboxes.
As you can see above, plugins can do a lot to help you build a functioning site. Just remember that some plugins can be a little more troublesome than others when it comes to ensuring that your site functions the way you want it to. For example, if you’re looking for a caching plugin that will speed up your site’s performance, you might want to try out WP Smart Cache instead of using the default WordPress caching plugin. The same goes for searching for a contact form plugin.
If you’re looking for a simple, drag-and-drop website builder with a professional appearance, you can’t go wrong with Elementor. Not only does it offer a ton of pre-made templates, but it also has an amazing community of people who are ready to help you get the most out of your site.