How to Create a Free Website with WordPress, ASP.NET Entity Framework, and Visual Studio

One of the most popular content management systems is, without a doubt, WordPress. The platform is incredibly flexible and can be used to create a wide array of sites, from business blogs to news websites to product review hubs to social media platforms. It really is the most versatile CMS available and a joy to work with.

In this tutorial, we’re going to explore how to create a WordPress website from the ground up. We’re going to use Visual Studio to build a robust backend and then integrate it with the WordPress API to power a fully functioning website. In addition to using WordPress, we will be taking advantage of the.NET Core SDK and the ASP.NET Entity Framework to build a data-driven website.

Step one: Download and Install Visual Studio

If you’re reading this, I assume you’re either already using Visual Studio or are planning on using it in the near future. If not, then you’d best be sure you’re buying it because this tutorial won’t make much sense if you aren’t using it. Visual Studio is a complete development environment that allows for the creation of highly-functional websites and web applications. It comes with a robust set of tools that make developing sites and apps easy and fun.

In the coming sections, we will be exploring how to use Visual Studio to create a WordPress website from scratch, so you can get a feel for the process. To get started, you need to download and install Visual Studio.

Step two: Create a New Project

Before we get started, let’s take a quick moment to discuss what kind of project we’re going to create. As the name suggests, a WordPress project uses the WordPress API to interact with and display content from WordPress itself. This means the site can function as a kind of “back-end” for WordPress. So, in essence, WordPress is the front-end and Visual Studio is the back-end.

Since this is our first project, we’re assuming we’re going to use the Blank Application project type in Visual Studio. This project type creates a blank application with a built-in database. If you have existing projects, you can use the “Add ASP.NET Core and Angular Projects” option from the New Project dialog to create a fully functioning website with a backend.

Once the project has been created, navigate to the Application properties and make sure the “Create a virtual directory” option is selected. This will create a folder named “www” in the root of your project. Within this folder, you will find a file named “index.html”. This is the page that will serve as your project’s landing page. Open up the index.html page in a text editor and browse to the `

How to Create a Free Website with WordPress, ASP.NET Entity Framework, and Visual Studio

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Step three: Configure the Database

Before we get started establishing connections to the database, let’s take a moment to discuss what kind of database we will use. A WordPress project can use either a MySQL server or MariaDB server. The main difference between the two is that MariaDB allows for more customization when it comes to creating user accounts and performing administration tasks. So if you’re looking for simplicity, go with MySQL.

In this tutorial, we’re using MySQL. To connect to the database, click the “SQL Server Explorer” icon in the Database section of the Debug menu or type “\\” in the Server Name field in a text editor and press enter.

This will launch the DB Editor, which allows for more advanced configuration tasks. From here, you can create new databases, edit existing ones, or remove connections if you’re not using them. After making a few changes, click the “Test Connection” button to ensure the changes took effect.

Step four: Install WordPress

Now that our database is set up, let’s install WordPress. To do this, click the “Install WordPress” button in the Tools section of the Package Manager:

If you’re using MySQL, the Package Manager will download and install the WordPress core package, which includes the necessary software to get the application up and running. Once the setup process has been completed, click the “Launchpad” icon to access the dashboard.

This icon will open up the WordPress dashboard. From here, you can navigate to the Settings page to configure user account details, edit the theme, and install plugins. If you’re not using a password on your website, you can click the “Set up a password” button to create one.

WordPress includes several themes and plugins that can be activated from the dashboard. To set up a fully functioning blog using the default twentyfourteen theme, you would need to install the following plugins:

  • Akismet
  • Automatic Image Zoom
  • Bavarious Blogger
  • Buffer
  • CopyPress
  • Dailymotion Poster
  • Divi
  • Easy Digital Downloads
  • FancyCaptions
  • Free WordPress Calendar
  • Gritter Notification
  • Hello Fresh
  • Jetpack’s Comment Spam Protection
  • Kamada Lake
  • Keywords After Blogging
  • Mastodon
  • Meta Description Maxlength
  • Moonrise
  • Neat
  • No Distractions
  • No Sidebars
  • Notification Bubbles
  • Page Build
  • Polymorph
  • Redirection Plugin
  • Redirection via HTTP
  • Ricochet
  • SEO By Yoast
  • Simple Custom Thumbnail
  • Smush Blog Images
  • Summoner Online
  • SyndicateThis
  • Tag Clouds
  • Textile
  • Triggered Posts
  • VaultPress
  • W3 Total Cache
  • W3 Total Cache Extension for Chrome
  • Web Analytics
  • Yoast SEO

To set up a WordPress blog using the default Divi theme, you would need to install the following plugins:

  • Akismet
  • Automatic Image Zoom
  • Buzz
  • Divi
  • Easy Digital Downloads
  • FancyCaptions
  • Free WordPress Calendar
  • Gravatar
  • Hello Fresh(version 2)
  • Jetpack’s Comment Spam Protection
  • Kamada Lake
  • Keywords After Blogging
  • Meta Box
  • Mastodon
  • Moonrise
  • Neat
  • No Sidebars
  • Notification Bubbles
  • Redirection via HTTP(Shiny Pages)
  • Redirection via HTTPS
  • Ricochet
  • SEO by Yoast
  • Single Post Options
  • Smush Blog Images
  • SyndicateThis
  • Tag Clouds
  • Triggered Posts
  • VaultPress
  • W3 Total Cache
  • W3 Total Cache Extension for Chrome
  • Web Analytics
  • Yoast SEO

While WordPress is fantastic and extremely user-friendly, it is not the only content management system out there. If you’re looking for a simple solution, consider using another platform such as Joomla or Drupal.

Regardless, once you’ve got WordPress up and running, adding additional features and functionality is a breeze. You can write custom plugins in different languages (such as PHP) to integrate third-party services or add extra functionality to your site. And if you’re feeling particularly adventurous, you can always create a new theme or adjust an existing one to add additional functionality.