How to Create a Website Using WordPress: An Easy-to-Understand Guide
My First WordPress Website
When I was creating my first WordPress website, it was a disaster!
I spent hours trying to find out why my home page was different from what it should have been according to the tutorial I was using. I used too many plug-ins, constantly changing my theme, and crashed my site more than once, being on the verge of giving up.
But thankfully, I was wrong.
As soon as I realized how simple the main principles are, it turned out to be quite simple to use WordPress. Now, having already made a couple of sites for blogs, small companies, and other purposes, I can say that creating an official site via this platform is not something very difficult and does not require any programming skills whatsoever.
So here is your guide to creating your own website.
Why WordPress?
There are so many options when it comes to web development platforms. However, even in its abundance, WordPress continues to stand out.
Here are a few reasons I have kept going back to this platform:
It is free and open source
It is beginner-friendly
Many free themes
Plentiful plugins
SEO-friendly
For blogs, portfolios, business websites, and online stores
No matter what kind of website you want to make, from a personal blog to a fully-fledged online business, WordPress will do the job.
What You Need before Getting Started
Before creating a website on WordPress, here are the things you should have at hand:
Domain (yourwebsite.com)
Web Hosting
WordPress platform installed
Computer with Internet connection
Patience
WordPress comes pre-installed by many hosting companies, which means you don’t have to be a pro to install it.
Step 1: Select Domain Name
Domain name is the website’s URL.
Here are some tips from personal experience:
Select a short one.
Select a memorable one.
Avoid digits and dashes.
Select something relevant to your niche.
Examples include:
TechTipsHub.com
HealthyKitchenGuide.com
TravelWithAlex.com
It is not wise to waste weeks searching for “the perfect” domain.
Step 2: Purchase Website Hosting
Website hosting is the place where your website stays.
Shared hosting should suffice for newbies.
When choosing a hosting company, look for:
Rapid speed
Free SSL certificate
One-click installation of WordPress
Regular backups
Excellent support service
Step 3: Installation of WordPress
The majority of the hosts have one-click installation process.
It normally is a process that takes not more than five minutes.
After the installation process, you will get login details.
Your control panel can be accessed from:
yourwebsite.com/wp-admin
Once you log into the dashboard, you will find yourself in the WordPress Dashboard.
It might appear confusing at first but within a few days of using it, you will be familiar with the dashboard.
Step 4: Choosing a Theme
Theme will determine the appearance of your site.
To begin with, the mistake I did was to install a lot of themes.
But you should install only one theme and use it.
Some of the best free themes are:
Astra
GeneratePress
Kadence
Blocksy
Neve
They are lightweight and easy for beginners.
Step 5: Customize Your Website
Visit:
Appearance → Customize
Where you will be able to customize:
Logo
Colors
Fonts
Header
Footer
Homepage design
Don’t overdo it with the design of your website.
Often simple websites look more professional than complex ones full of animations.
Step 6: Design Important Web Pages
Each website needs some basic web pages.
They include:
Home
Your welcome page.
Tell the visitors:
Who are you?
What does your website offer?
How do you help?
About
Visitors prefer real people.
Talk about yourself, your experience, and your purpose.
Contact
Include there:
Contact form
Your email
Social media links
Make it easier for visitors to contact you.
Privacy policy
The page where you explain how the data of the visitors are used.
Needed for trust issues and for advertising platforms.
Terms and conditions
It protects you and your visitors.
Disclaimer
Useful when you post any kind of tutorials, reviews, or finance-related information.
Step 7: Install Helpful Plugins
Plugins enhance functionality of WordPress.
Install only what you really need.
These are the plugins that I have found helpful myself:
Rank Math SEO
It helps optimize websites for search engines.
LiteSpeed Cache
It increases website speed.
WPForms Lite
It makes creation of contact forms easy.
UpdraftPlus
It backs up your website.
Wordfence Security
It adds security to protect from hacking.
Smush
It compresses pictures to make your website load faster.
Step 8: Write Your First Blog Post
Go to:
Posts → Add New
Think of a topic that will be useful.
For example:
Guide to Beginner Photography
Best Budget Smartphones
Healthy Breakfast Suggestions
Write as you normally talk.
Just imagine you explain things to a friend instead of writing for Google.
Step 9: Include Images
Images help make your content more readable.
Include:
Original photographs
Screenshots
Stock images
Before you upload:
Resize big images
Compress the images
Properly name your files
Rather than naming your images:
IMG0001.jpg
Name them:
wordpress-dashboard.jpg
Even small things like this help with organization.
Step 10: Create Your Navigation Menu
Your visitors need to find information easily.
Menu options include:
Home
Blog
About
Contact
Do not put hundreds of menu links.
Step 11: Make Your Site Mobile Compatible
Half of your visitors will use their cell phones to look at websites.
After posting your pages:
Mobile testing
Tablet testing
Desktop testing
Often, the text looks great on one, but not the other.
Step 12: Make Your Website Faster
What I learned the hard way is that:
Slow websites repel visitors.
To make it faster:
Compress images
Enable caching
Use light themes
Remove unused plugins
Keep WordPress up-to-date
A fast website satisfies your visitors.
Step 13: Get Familiar with SEO Basics
You don’t have to be an SEO guru.
Learn how to do simple things right from the start.
Use:
Headings
Helpful content
Paragraphs
Titles
Internal links
Image alt tags
Instead of targeting keywords try to answer visitors’ questions.
Step 14: Always Stay Up-to-Date
WordPress updates all the time.
Keep updated:
Themes
Plugins
WordPress core files
But before each big update make a backup.
Once I ignored this advice and wasted hours fixing my website.
From now on I always keep a backup before updating WordPress.
Common Mistakes Made by Beginners
The following are the mistakes that I have made personally and that most newbies make.
Installing Too Many Plugins
Not all plugins make your website better.
Get rid of whatever is not necessary.
Overlooking Website Security
Websites become easy targets for hacking due to weak passwords.
It’s important to create complex passwords and install two-factor authentication whenever possible.
Neglecting Backup Solutions
Backing up websites may save you days of effort.
Creating automatic backups right from day one should be considered.
Using Unnecessary Themes
Themes with too many animations reduce speed.
Most simple themes function faster than fancy themes.
Posting Irrelevant Content
A beautiful website doesn’t matter much when the content is not valuable.
Solve readers' issues.
Example from Real Life
My friend was looking to build a website for his local computer repair company.
Rather than spending much money on a professional developer, we decided to build the website using WordPress within a weekend.
Our pages included:
Homepage
Services page
About page
Contact form
Testimonials
And after several weeks, the visitors started reaching the company via Google search.
Even though our website wasn’t something fancy, it did load quickly, was user-friendly on mobile phones, and provided clear information about the company’s services. This is how our website attracted more clients.
Some Tips that Helped Me Build Better Websites
Here are the practices that help me build a better website each time I use WordPress:
Always write for people.
Have a nice design.
Do not use any unnecessary plugins.
Never publish pages without checking them first.
Keep everything updated.
Use original pictures when you can.
Check your website on a mobile phone.
Always try to learn more about WordPress.
Is WordPress Worth Learning?
Yes!
It might be slightly challenging at the beginning, for the first couple of days, but after you figure out the structure of pages, themes, plugins, and menu, everything will become clear and simple.
No matter what kind of website you are going to make – blog, portfolio, small business website or online store – with WordPress, you have a chance to develop it further without any programming skills.
And my best recommendation for all the beginners is this: do not wait till you create "the perfect website". Create it and improve as you develop your skills.
Conclusion
The creation of a WordPress site may seem difficult at first; nonetheless, you shouldn’t be afraid of that. The key to successful website owners who know their businesses well is that they used to be beginners whose pages were full of questions at the beginning.
Your first website doesn’t have to be perfect. The most important things are to write relevant information and consider the convenience of your website’s design. When you become more knowledgeable about everything that can be done in WordPress, you will have many more options for improvement.
WordPress gives you an opportunity to create different kinds of websites even if you don’t have any programming skills. It is a highly adaptable platform where you can create literally anything starting from a simple blog to a commercial site.
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