What is WordPress?
WordPress is a content management system (CMS) developed by American developer Matt Mullenweg and English developer Mike Little in 2003. Today, it’s the most popular CMS on the internet, running over 35% of all websites.
WordPress runs on a web server, which is where your website files are stored and delivered when someone visits your website.
WordPress enables you to create a blog or website without having to write code or mess with technical stuff. It’s my personal favorite for building websites because it makes things so incredibly easy!
Why Should I use WordPress?
WordPress is a content management system, which means you can install WordPress on a server or hosting plan to make it easy for you to manage our website without having to touch any code.
This also means that you don’t have to hire developers each time you want to make changes to your blog.
It’s free.
It’s very flexible because of the huge number of free and paid themes are available that allow you to change the look and functionality of your blog easily. Most importantly, it’s search engine friendly and it helps you create better-structured content that will rank higher in search engines like Google and Bing.
How do I get started using WordPress?
To get started using WordPress, you need to install the software on a hosting server. This will allow you to store all of your content so that it can be viewed by visitors to your website.
After you install WordPress, it is easy for you to customize your design through a theme quickly. A theme controls much of the look and feels of your site, from fonts and colors to page layouts. There are thousands of themes available through various providers; some are paid premium themes with better functionality, while others are free.
You can also extend the functionality of WordPress with plugins that incorporate additional features into your sites such as contact forms, image galleries, or advanced navigation menus.
Additionally, there are thousands of free and premium plugins available online which may help you do everything from controlling spam comments to enabling complex eCommerce systems within WordPress.
Now you’re ready to publish your first post or page! Head over to the Add New section under Posts or Pages in the main menu and start writing!
What kind of content can I add to my website?
What kind of content can I add to my website?
You can add just about any kind of digital content to your site. You could also create a blog, a forum, an online store, a contact form, and more.
How does website hosting work with WordPress?
Hosting is a service that stores your website on the internet. In order to run a website or blog, you need a hosting plan. There are many companies that offer reliable and secured hosting services such as BlueHost, HostGator, and GoDaddy. Choose a hosting company that suits your need.
You can install WordPress on your web hosting when you sign up for an account with a web host.
It’s free to use and you can download it from their official website, wordpress.org, or through your cPanel if you are using HostGator or GoDaddy (and many other hosts).
Why is WordPress the best option for blogging?
The main reasons WordPress is the best option are because:
- It’s easy to use
- The community is very helpful and friendly, so you’ll be able to get help quickly if you need it
WordPress is one of the best platforms to use when creating a blog. WordPress powers over 25% of all websites on the internet, and it’s a great place to start your blog because it’s free, easy to use, and flexible enough for just about anything.
Select a domain name and get your hosting service.
If you’re a keen reader of this blog and you have an interest in web development, then there’s a high likelihood that you’ll be looking to buy a domain name, or maybe even two.
Domain names are what you type in the browser to get your blog(i.e. [yourblog]domainname.com), so they’re important because they set the foundation for your online presence. Using them effectively will help to draw people to your site and encourage them to stay, so it’s important to choose one that reflects your brand, is easy to remember, and isn’t taken by another website already in operation or registered by someone else who was thoughtful enough about their domain names too (yea…thanks).
After choosing a domain name, it’s time to start building an account with the place that will host it for you before you can start using the thing on any real level – which is where hosting comes in:
- Hosting is essentially just storage space for all of your content – like how Dropbox hosts files for you on its servers (AKA “your content”) – but instead of being limited as regards amount, it can be as big as needed and will always be available while continuing to function perfectly well with no crashes and no loss of data whatsoever at all
Install WordPress
To get started, choose a web hosting plan from BlueHost since it’s easier to use. We
recommend the Basic Plan because it is affordable for beginners and comes with all the features you need to build your first WordPress site.
Now that you’ve got your domain name and hosting, the Next step, is to install WordPress.
Setting up a WordPress website is a lot easier than it used to be. Instead of installing themes and plugins manually, you can now install them with just one click straight through the WordPress dashboard.
WordPress has pre-designed themes so you can choose what your site will look like. Once your theme is chosen, you can customize it to make it more personal by changing the logo or adding some widgets (elements that add functionality to the sidebar). You’ll also need to add some plugins that help prevent spam comments and let people easily share posts on social media.
Finally, don’t forget your domain name! Connecting it to WordPress means copying some code from GoDaddy into your Settings tab in the dashboard–it’s super easy!
How to navigate your WordPress dashboard
- Customizing your theme
- Posting a new blog or article
- Adding a new page to your site
- Adding a new user to your site
- Adding a new plugin to your site
- Installing a new theme on your WordPress website
- Updating the WordPress software
What are plugins and which should you use?
Plugins are pieces of software you can add to your WordPress site that expand its functionality. They’re a great way to take your site to the next level and give it a unique look and feel that makes it stand out from everyone else’s.
Essential plugins to install first
The most popular WordPress plugins can be found in the official directory, which is built into your WordPress dashboard. You can find it by going to Plugins → Add New:
- Akismet is one of the most popular and widely used WordPress plugins in the world, protecting you from malicious comments and spam.
- WooCommerce allows you to build a full-featured eCommerce store on your WordPress site.
- WPForms makes it simple to add a contact form to any page on your website, as well as advanced form solutions like surveys and polls.
- Contact Form 7 allows you to manage multiple contact forms and customize them through simple markup.
- Jetpack is another incredibly powerful plugin that brings many features of the free WordPress.com service into self-hosted WordPress sites (i.e., those hosted on your own domain). It includes everything from stats tracking and social media integration to site security enhancements.
Staging plugins to install next
- WP Super Cache
- W3 Total Cache
- WP Smush
- OptinMonster
- WordPress SEO by Yoast
- WPForms
- MonsterInsights
- Google Analytics Dashboard for WP
Plugins to try later
You can keep building your site by installing and activating plugins. Plugins are powerful tools that help you add a lot of functionality to your WordPress site. Some plugins are free, while others require payment. We recommend starting with a few free plugins, then exploring paid options later on. One thing to remember is that plugins are not always easy to get started with, especially if you’re just starting out with WordPress so we recommend waiting until you’re more familiar with how everything works before installing too many new things.
Your first blog post
I love to blog. It’s a great way to learn, teach and make money. You get a platform where you can reach millions of people with your thoughts, opinions, and ideas. WordPress is the place to start your own blog. I’ve been using it for over 2 years now and I’m always learning new tips and tricks. Here are some of the favorites that have helped me in the past month:
- Use Quick Edit for reviewing important sections
- Use the Export/Import feature to set up different blogs on different domains or hosting companies
- If you have a question about how to do something, ask in the WordPress forum
- Customize your theme – change colors & backgrounds or even add your own images
The keys to getting started with this CMS include installing the software and then adding some plugins to help add functionality.
Now that you’ve got your WordPress installation taken care of, it’s time to get acquainted with the interface. Let’s start by adding some posts!
Once you’re comfortable creating content, you can move on to adding new pages and creating user accounts.
Once you’ve built up your site with content, here are some additional things to help:
- Managing menus
- Changing the appearance of the site (themes)
- Adding images and videos
- Adding widgets (sidebars)
- Adding links
- Managing comments
- Permalinks
Add your content to WordPress
To do this, log in to your WordPress blog’s admin area.
Click on Posts and then click on Add New.
You will get an editor with that you can write your post.
Enter the title for your post in the first field (e.g., “How to Make a Chocolate Cake”). Then enter the text of your first blog post into the big text box below it. And if you have any images that go with your post, you can upload them using the Add Media button above the text box (just like adding images to a Word document). If you want, you can preview how this post will look by clicking on the Preview button in the Publish section in the right-hand sidebar of WordPress. Once you are satisfied with your content, click on Publish so that it is live on your blog for everyone to visit!
With WordPress, you don’t need any coding ability in order to create your own unique website that reflects your individual personality and style.
