How to Create a Website With WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS) available, and it’s definitely not a secret why. WordPress is incredibly flexible and can be used to create something that suits your needs. In this article, we will discuss some of the basics of creating a WordPress website, including tips on how to name your website and the different ways you can organize your content.
The Steps To Take To Create A WordPress Website
If you’ve decided that you want to create a WordPress website but aren’t exactly sure how to begin, here is a comprehensive step-by-step guide that will get you up and running quickly.
Before you begin making any purchase decisions, take some time to do your research. There are numerous plugins and themes that can be used to create a beautiful and functional website, but before you make any big decisions, it’s important to know what you’re choosing. Don’t just download any old theme or plugin and expect it to work; do your research and make sure that you’re picking out the right tools for the job.
Naming Your Website
When you’re creating your WordPress website, you have the option of using a custom domain or using the default.wordpress URL to connect with your site. Most people choose the former, but it’s completely up to you. When you use a custom domain, you won’t be bound to using a.wordpress domain and you can create a more unique and memorable name for your site. To name your website, visit your dashboard and click the Settings button. From there, you can input the name of your site and choose whether or not you want to use the.wordpress domain.
Categories & Tags
When someone lands on your website and decides to browse through your content, they will use categories and tags to organize and navigate your content. When you use WordPress, you have the option of creating categories and subcategories to organize and display your content. Just remember that you can’t have more than three levels of categories. Additionally, you can use the categories and tags that are already available for you to organize your content. You don’t have to create new categories and tags if these tools are already available to you.
Content
Your WordPress site’s content is what you’ll use to populate its pages. When someone visits your site and lands on a page, they will see content laid out in a readable format. WordPress makes it easy for anyone to add content to a page, and since content is how a site works, it follows that the more content you have, the more you’ll have to offer.
When someone lands on your site and wants to read an article, they will most likely begin at the top and click down to the next page. This is known as a “top-down” browsing strategy, and it makes perfect sense within the context of WordPress. Since your contents are already organized into categories and tags, all they have to do is click on the tag of their interest and boom—they’re on the page that they want to be on. While this may seem like an easy task, having content that is both relevant and interesting takes some work.
The Layout
Your site’s layout is how you want your contents to appear on a screen. You have the option of using a grid layout or a list layout for your site’s pages. Personally, I found the grid-style layout to be the most effective and easiest to use when creating a WordPress website. You can use a free tool like gridster.io to help you generate unique and beautiful layouts for your website.
Color Scheme
Your site’s color scheme is how you want your text to appear. When someone visits your site and decides to read an article, they will see text set in a certain color scheme. You have the option of using a light or a dark color scheme, and there are numerous wix.com color themes that you can choose from. If you decide on a darker color scheme, you’ll have to choose a font that can withstand the contrast in order to have readable text.
Header & Footer
When someone visits your site and lands on a page, they will see a header and footer. Your header and footer are used to identify yourself and your site, as well as provide a little bit of information about your site’s content.
Your header is what you’ll see at the top of the page, while your footer will be what you see at the bottom of the page. A common practice among WordPress users is to use a header image that is the same height as the rest of the website’s content. When you use this method, your header will appear to smoothly flow into the rest of your site’s content.
Navigation
Your site’s navigation is how you want your users to navigate between your site’s pages. You have the option of adding a navigation menu on the left-hand side of your website, or you can add a logo or an image that will provide a visual cue for your users as to how to navigate.
WordPress makes creating a navigation menu incredibly easy. Just visit your site’s dashboard and click the Settings button. From there, you can enter a menu name, choose a display style, and add an image or text link to the menu.
Statistics
WordPress provides you with the option of viewing your site’s statistics. These statistics give you a better idea of how well your site is performing online and can help you make better decisions about its future.
You can find the statistics for your site in two places: your WordPress dashboard and your Google Analytics account. To access your WordPress dashboard’s statistics, click the Settings button, followed by the Statistics link on the left side of the screen.
As you can see, my blog’s statistics are shown above. You can pull up your Google Analytics account’s statistics by going to your account’s settings and looking for the “Site statistics” option.
Privacy Policy
Your site’s privacy policy is a short document that you’ll use to inform users as to how their personal information will be used. Just remember that if you’re using WordPress for a business purpose, you must provide users with the option to opt out of the collection of their information. You can find your site’s privacy policy in your WordPress dashboard under the Settings tab. Alternatively, you can find most major internet companies’ privacy policies, which you can copy and paste into your own.
Security & Hacking
Your site’s security and hacking policies are what you’ll use to notify users of your site’s security measures and how they work. Just remember that if you decide to use a custom domain, you’ll have to set up a password for your site.
Setting up a secure and trusted platform for your website is incredibly easy within WordPress. Just visit your site’s dashboard and click the Settings button. From there, you can choose a secure password (at least eight characters long and including at least one number) and enable two-factor authentication (2FA).
Additional
Finally, on this front page, you’ll want to include some information about yourself, your blog, or website. Just remember that each of these items will ultimately serve as a link back to your website, so make sure that you put a link in each of these areas.
As you can see above, I’ve included a bio, social media icons, and a footer link leading to my site’s home page. All of these items will ultimately link back to mywebsite.com, so I’ve linked them below my blog’s content.
If you’ve decided that you want to create a WordPress website but aren’t exactly sure how to begin, here is a comprehensive step-by-step guide that will get you up and running quickly.