How to Create a Website in WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular Content Management Systems (CMS) used world-wide and has been around for over a decade now. We’ll discuss the basic steps to create a simple yet functional WordPress site, from scratch. We’ll also show you some tricks and tools that can be helpful during the process. Let’s get started.
Step One: Purchase A Domain
One of the first things you’ll need to do is purchase a domain for your website. This could be yourcompanyname.com, yourproductname.com, or even yourblogaddress.com. We’ll use productname.com for the examples below.
It is a good idea to purchase a.com domain extension as it is the most popular domain extension worldwide. However, if you are looking for a free domain, you can find a.co domain through a partnership with Cloudflare. You can read more about the.co domain extension here. In this article, we’ll discuss the fundamental difference between a.com and a.co domain.
Step Two: Install WordPress
Next, you’ll need to install WordPress on your webserver. To do this, visit the WordPress website and click on the Download button. Once the download completes, install the WordPress application by following the on-screen instructions.
Installing WordPress is usually a pretty easy process. Depending on your server and its configuration, it may take a few minutes to a few hours. Once completed, you will see a screen similar to this:
You can log in to your WordPress dashboard by using the following credentials:
- Username: admin
- Password: admin
A simple login screen will then appear. You’ll also notice that WordPress has automatically created a few user roles and assigned them to you. If you look closely, you’ll see that you are a member of the Contributor and the Trusted Contributor roles. These two user roles give you full control over the site. Just remember that your users will only have access to the site if you allow them through the WordPress dashboard. Otherwise, they’ll only see an unresponsive website when they visit it.
Step Three: Set Up Your Database
Next, you’ll need to set up the database for WordPress. To do this, visit the WordPress dashboard and click on the Tools button in the top right corner. From here, you can either choose to set up a new database or choose an existing database. For this tutorial, we’ll choose to set up a new database.
Once the database is set up, you’ll see a confirmation screen. If you look closely, you’ll notice that WordPress has automatically assigned you the role of Database Admin. This is also the case with the other roles you’ve been assigned. You’ll need to check the privileges for these roles and make sure that the correct user has access to the required database. For instance, if you notice that the WordPress Editor role has full access to the wp_post table, you should probably revoke that access so that the role only has access to post content.
Step Four: Create Your Website
Now that your database is set up and you’re ready to begin developing your website, it’s time to start building out the basic structure of your new site. To begin with, click on the Add New button in the upper right corner of the dashboard. This will open up a menu of options:
Here you can choose a theme for your website (this will impact the way your site looks), configure the display settings, and choose a layout for your posts (this will impact how your posts look when published).
WordPress comes with a number of the popular and widely used themes pre-installed. If you’re looking for something completely unique, you can download and install a custom theme from the WordPress repository.
As for the layout for your posts, if you’re looking for something simple, you could choose the Blog option. This will put your posts in a grid with a classic blog layout. If you’d like to take your content in a different direction, you can choose the Post option and choose from one of the many available free blog themes with which to make your site unique. Remember that your website’s design and overall user experience is your decision, and it’s up to you to make it as unique and special as possible.
Step Five: Add More Content To Your Website
Now that you’ve got your basic site configured, it’s time to start adding more content to it. To do this, click on the Add New button in the upper right corner of the dashboard. This will open up a menu of options:
Here you can choose from a number of different content types to add to your site:
Articles
You can add articles for your site by clicking on the Add New button and then choosing the Articles option from the dropdown menu that appears. This will bring up a form that allows you to start adding content to your site immediately.
This content will then appear in an unpaginated list with a brief description and link back to your site. To customize this list, you can enter a number of different tags that will appear next to the article’s title on the list.
Each article also has a featured image and a number of short, explanatory, and sometimes amusing (or sad) videos that can be used to engage with your readers.
Services
The Services option in the Add New menu will bring up a form where you can add a service to your site. A service is an entity that provides a particular product or offers a particular service for a fee. You can add services such as lawyers, doctors, accountants, and financial planners to your site. When adding a service, you need to make sure that you include everything from the description, to the pricing, to the key contact information.
For example, if you’re adding a lawyer firm to your site, you’ll want to include everything from the legal description to the pricing to the physical address for the office. You can also add photos of the office for added authenticity.
Products
The Products option in the Add New menu will bring up a form where you can add a product to your site. A product is a thing that is manufactured or created to fulfill a need or to be bought and used. You can add products such as cars, furniture, travel gear, gadgets, and clothes to your site. When adding a product, you need to make sure that you include everything from the description, to the pricing, to the key contact information.
Once you’ve added all the required content, you can click on the Save Changes button at the bottom of the form to finalize the order.
If you’re looking for a more streamlined method of adding content, you can also use the Bulk Editor to make changes to multiple posts at once.
Now that you’ve got your basic site configured, it’s time to start adding more content to it. To do this, click on the Add New button in the upper right corner of the dashboard. This will open up a menu of options:
Here you can choose from a number of different content types to add to your site:
Articles
You can add articles for your site by clicking on the Add New button and then choosing the Articles option from the dropdown menu that appears. This will bring up a form that allows you to start adding content to your site immediately.
This content will then appear in an unpaginated list with a brief description and link back to your site. To customize this list, you can enter a number of different tags that will appear next to the article’s title on the list.
Each article also has a featured image and a number of short, explanatory, and sometimes amusing (or sad) videos that can be used to engage with your readers.
Services
The Services option in the Add New menu will bring up a form where you can add a service to your site. A service is an entity that provides a particular product or offers a particular service for a fee. You can add services such as lawyers, doctors, accountants, and financial planners to your site. When adding a service, you need to make sure that you include everything from the description, to the pricing, to the key contact information.
For example, if you’re adding a lawyer firm to your site, you’ll want to include everything from the legal description to the pricing to the physical address for the office. You can also add photos of the office for added authenticity.