How to Convert Your Website into WordPress – From HTML to WP
WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms in the world, and with good reason! The fact that it is open-source and free to use makes it an attractive option for bloggers looking to start a new blog, or those who want to make updates to their existing blog. WordPress also happens to be one of the most user-friendly blogging platforms around, which makes it perfect for people new to blogging or those who want to update their blog frequently. Whether you are a seasoned blogger looking for a new platform or a business person looking to establish your company’s blog, this article will guide you through the basic process of converting your existing website or blog into a fully functioning WordPress blog in no time!
Step one: Selecting the right domain name
Before you start building your WordPress blog, you need to select the right domain name. Ideally, you want to pick a.com domain that is short and simple to remember. For instance, if you are wanting to create a beauty blog, you might choose skinincredible.com instead of the longer and more cumbersome beautifyourself.com. Remember that your chosen domain name will be the one you use to access and log into your WordPress installation, so make sure you choose something that easily catches your eye!
Step two: Coding the basics
Now that you have your domain name, the next step is to build a basic HTML/CSS layout for your website using the layout provided by WordPress. This will consist of a header, a footer, and the body of your website. The body will contain your blog posts and several other elements, like image galleries, which we will cover later. Within the body, you will want to include a top bar containing your website’s logo, social media links, and navigation. To create this bar, simply type in your website’s URL (i.e. mybloggers.com) or use the exact same text for your social media links (i.e. Twitter, Instagram, and so on).
You don’t need to code a fully functioning website from scratch using WordPress as a CMS (Content Management System), but you should be able to follow the steps mentioned here and have a rough idea of how to put the platform to use. WordPress is extremely easy to use and will make creating your blog much quicker and much less stressful. You can also find many free widgets and buttons that can be easily integrated into your blog to make it more visually appealing to your readers.
Step three: Setting up the blog’s name & theme
In the next step, you will want to choose a blog name that accurately reflects your website/blog and pick a theme for the blog that is easy to remember and looks good on your blog’s landing page. For example, if you choose a blog name like TheBeautyBlog and select the Underscores theme as your theme, your readers will know exactly what you are talking about when you write about beauty products!
You have two options here: you can either use your blog’s name or you can use a short name that is associated with your blog. If you go with the former, make sure that your chosen name isn’t already taken by another existing blog or website. You don’t want to pick a name that is already in use, as this could lead to problems with your blog’s registration and your readers may not be able to find your content.
Step four: Customizing your blog’s look
Once you have your blog name and you have some content to go with it, you can start customizing your blog’s appearance. You can change the theme to something more fitting for your blog (i.e. if you want your blog to have a vintage or retro feel, you can select a theme from that era), add or remove widgets from the dashboard, and tweak the look of your blog with different colors, fonts, and image sources.
If you feel like your current blog’s design is a bit boring or you want to add a little extra something to it, you can always visit the WordPress community to find thousands of professionally designed blogs and websites that you can use as inspiration for your own work. You are free to use these templates for commercial purposes, so long as you give the creators credit for their work and link back to their blog or website.
Step five: Integrating your podcast into your website
WordPress also comes with a built-in podcast feature that allows you to create and publish a podcast from your blog. This can be a great way to grow your blog’s audience and establish yourself as an authority in your industry. You can use a tool like the Grow Podcast to easily find and integrate a podcast platform into your website. Once you have your podcast’s URL, you can add it to your blog’s content to easily and effectively promote your podcast’s content on your website.
Step six: Publishing your first blog post
It’s important to note that you don’t have to have a complete blog post to get started with WordPress. You can simply type in any type of content you have, even a few lines of text, and publish it. Your post will be published instantly and you can easily add more content to it. This may be a good option for beginners who want to write and publish a few blog posts without spending too much time making them look good.
If you want to add more structure to your blog post, you can use a tool like Headway that automatically turns a simple text post into a well-formatted blog post. With the right tools and a little bit of know-how, creating a quality blog post is easier than you think!
Step seven: Promoting your blog
Once you have your blog up and running, you can start promoting it on various platforms like Twitter, Google+, and Pinterest. You can also use social media to directly contact your readers and get them to subscribe to your blog. Don’t forget to check out your blog’s analytics to see how others are finding and interacting with your content.
WordPress’ popularity means that there are thousands of free blogs and websites out there that you can use to promote your blog. You can also opt to make money from your blog by selling and displaying ads on it. There are many different ways to make money from a blog, so find a way that works best for you.
You can use WordPress as a basic blogging platform, or you can select a premium theme and use it for your company blog. You can find a free WordPress theme, like the beautiful and highly customizable Underscores, that you can download and install on your site.
WordPress is free and open source, which means that it is available to all users, not just the ones who can afford a premium theme or have the technical know-how to install one themselves. This makes it a great choice for bloggers who want to monetize their content or those who want to build a community around their blog. In this case, WordPress is the ultimate free blogging platform!