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How to Make a WordPress Website – Step-by-Step Guide for Beginners

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Making a website with WordPress is comparatively easy. But without a proper step-by-step guide, most people get confused and seek expert help. However, we have made this guide in a way that you can easily create and customize your WordPress website if you follow the steps and practice properly.

We all know that WordPress is a very popular CMS with which you can easily make your website, create posts and make it live to the internet. It was not easy a few years back when people have to code for months to make a simple website. Back then publishing posts and making the content SEO friendly were also not that easy as we can do in 2019.

However, if you are hearing the name “WordPress” for the first time, or have not used it yet and planning to create a website with this CMS, this step-by-step WordPress website tutorial will guide you to create a WordPress website successfully from start to finish. 

Let’s start reading and learning the steps serially below:

Picking up and Register for Domain Name and Web Hosting

Register Domain :

Bluehost is a great source for choosing a perfect match domain name for WordPress.

Before even step inside WordPress, you need a place for it to store. And You Need a name for your website, which is called “Domain Name”.  A domain name is your website’s address. By searching the specific name people can find your website on the internet. But Finding a name for your website as you wish is not an easy thing. As there are billions of websites and each having a different name, finding a unique name for your website takes little time and research.

However, if you are facing trouble choosing a perfect domain name for your WordPress website, there are a few websites that can help you out. You just need to simply put your keyword or your idea on the “search domain name” bar of those websites, they will suggest you awesome and available domain names to register for you. But keep in mind that, your domain name should be:

  • Relative to your brand or niche
  • Fairly short, brandable and catchy
  • Easy to remember and easy to type

Here’s another thing. You will have to choose your TLD – Top Level Domain also. TLD is a suffix attached after your domain name or URL like .com, .org, .edu, etc. There are also TLDs based on geographic location (like .uk and .in). Choose your TLD according to your business, service, or website type.

After finding the right domain name, you need to register that name. There are plenty of places or websites where you can register your website name. The websites are called Domain Registrar. A
domain registrar is an organization or service platform that reserves
your right to use a specific domain for a given period.

Let’s say, you have registered your domain name for 1 year, you will have to renew it with a specified fee after the validation. If you do not already have a domain name registered, you can register your domain while buying your web hosting.

Choose Web Hosting :

Choosing a perfect hosting plan is very important before starting a WordPress website.

While choosing a web hosting for your WordPress website, we recommend two hosting options for a startup.

We do recommend anything other than a shared web hosting for newbies. All other types of hosting you may have heard from the people or over the internet (like VPS hosting, cloud hosting, etc.), these might not be the right options for your first website. They are too costly and overrated for a new website.

However, Managed WordPress Hosting is comparably cost less than the other form of hosting we just have mentioned. But Shared hosting is the cheapest one and will be the right choice for you as a new webmaster.

 Now come to the main point, which web hosting plan will be right for you?

As there are tons of hosting service providers around the world, it is now really difficult to recommend one with a sentence. Don’t worry, we are giving you two options that you can start with. But over time, your preferences will be changed and you need to upgrade your hosting plan. So then move to a new hosting service provider when it will be high time for you. You can read a full guide of Top Hosting Service Provider in recent times, which will help you to decide when should you get a new hosting plan and which hosting service provider will be the best for you.

However, for today, our top two recommended shared web hosting plans for a new website are:

Bonus Option: If you are on a budget or want the cheapest hosting solution, you can get Namecheap Shared Hosting Stellar Plan.

WordPress for Beginners – The Installation

Previously for installing WordPress, you had to download a script from WordPress and upload it in web hosting. But nowadays installing WordPress gets a little bit easier as there is a one-click installation button in Bluehost or similar hosting companies.

For installing WordPress in Bluehost

  • Sign up and log in, in your Bluehost account.
  • After you have logged in, go to the control panel.
  • Find out the WordPress or website icon. Click on that.
  • Choose the domain, where you want to install your website.
  • Click the “Install Now” button.

It is all done and now you can get access to your new WordPress account. But if you are not using Bluehost or any similar account, you may not get any “one-click install” button. In that case, you have to install WordPress manually.

Design as You Like

In 2020, both search engines and people like the website which looks beautiful, user-friendly and fast. So, you have to make your WordPress in a way that this modern and easy to use. For that, you need to ensure the following terms:

  • Faster Loading Times: Which includes a minimal design, colorful, using simple themes and better UX.
  • Better SEO: You need to simple theme and design your website in a way that improves your search engine coding.
  • Give More Focus on the Content: Site design also includes producing better content and user-friendly content design. You need to place all the CTA (Call-To-Action) button perfectly in your content and place your information perfectly in the right place.

Now move on to the key features you need to look for a simple WordPress theme design:

1. Choose the Right Theme and Template

Choose a minimal design WordPress theme for your WordPress website.

If you want to set up your WordPress website in a simple way, the first thing you need to choose the right WordPress template for you. Here you need to decide whether you need an HTML template or a WordPress template. However, after choosing the template you now have to customize it and make it ready to live.

2. Minimal Design

Step by Step Guide for Beginners How to Choose the Minimal Design Theme For WordPress Website

Simple WP theme is not only easy to customize and setup, but also it has a great positive impact on the search engines and your visitors. Instead of making your website too clumsy and scribble, make it easy to use, fresh, minimal and simple. Implement bold, where it necessary and use eye-catching typography. Keep enough white spaces on all the pages and ensure there has plenty of space stand out and make the UI such a way that will draw the attention of your website visitors.

3. One-Click Demo Import

One click demo import will help you to import content & images with a click.

By this plugin, you can easily import all of the demo content and images from the theme you like and just have installed. By doing so, you can have a full structured website, which will help you a better overview of your theme and make the customization easy for you.

4. Edit CSS

There is a custom coding option on WordPress.

If you cannot find any WordPress template suitable for you, WordPress always gives you an option for custom coding. If you are a developer or a person who has in-depth knowledge about coding, you can opt into that and customize your full WP site as you like.

5. Use a Theme Builder and Go Further

Theme builder plugins for WordPress have made the theme designing task really easy.

Theme builder plugins for WordPress have made the theme designing task really easy for a newbie to an expert. You can easily drag and drop your desired elements or section into a page or a post and customize your whole WordPress website with a theme builder plugin like Elementor, Beaver Builder, etc.

WordPress has its own theme editor named “Gutenberg”. You can do most of the customization with this in-built one. But if you want to go further and want to do more, you can install the theme builder plugin for WordPress.

Here’s a full comparison of the top WordPress theme builders. Read and choose which one you like most. 

Now it’s time to move your head towards content creation, which includes – creating and publishing content, setting up the menu, and installing the necessary plugins. Let’s get to learn all these below.

Get Familiarized with WordPress Dashboard

WordPress Dashboard is very easy to understand.

Do you know the best way to get familiarized with new software? It is similar to the way kids get to know about their toys. When you give your children a toy, you will notice that they spend hours figuring it out.

In the process, you don’t tell them how to play or what to do with it. They try random things and eventually find out the right way to play with it. From our experience, we think you should try something similar to that.

But there are some things you must consider. It is like warning your kids about some harmful side effects of a toy. Here, we are talking about experimenting with the WordPress Dashboard and you must get some things right for the sake of Search Engine Optimization.

SEO is not the only concern here. We will also ensure that your readers don’t feel uncomfortable browsing through your website. Let’s see what are those facts that will polish your site and make it shine like a diamond.

Primary Steps: The Rough Cuts

Primary Steps The Rough Cuts

At first, the steps may seem random but we need you to trust us. After these rough cuts, you will realize that your website is getting into shape. Let’s see the various and random actions to perform from the WordPress Dashboard.

  • At first, go to the Dashboard and find Settings from the left bar. Clicking on the Settings, you will see some other sub-options and click ‘Reading’ from them.
  • Then, you should check or uncheck the search engine visibility checkbox according to your needs. It means that check if you are ready to publish and vice-versa.
  • Secondly, click on the ‘Permalinks’ from the same sub-options as before. There are several choices for the look of your posts’ permalink. We recommend you to select the ‘Post Name’ option and save settings. It is the best format for permalinks and your posts will be optimized.
  • Thirdly, you need to set your preference for comments and discussions of every post. To do that, you will have to click on the ‘Discussion’ option from the same previous step.
  • Finally, the Time zone of your preferred location can be set from the General Settings. Finding the option to do that is no different than the previous one.

Final Steps: Ultimate Cuts & Polishing

These are the final cuts for your diamond. We will finish this with some suggestions for advanced users and you can consider it the polishing. After all the steps mentioned here, your website will be ready to shine among thousands of rocks.

  • At first, you should consider adding a contact form to your website. It is an important step towards building trust in the community. If you know some necessary programming languages, you can build a contact page yourself. Otherwise, you should install a plugin and WPForms is the most popular plugin for the job.
  • Secondly, it is important to check some statistics regarding your website’s visitors. You can do it by signing up on Google Analytics and adding your website to your account.
  • Thirdly, you should consider ensuring your WordPress site accommodates all visitors, including those with disabilities. To that end, you can use an accessibility plugin.
  • Finally, you can add another plugin for improving your website’s SEO. The most popular plugin is the Yoast SEO which will take care of major portions of on-page SEO. But you need to know the latest SEO trends and Google updates instead of relying on some plugin.

When you have completed installing all necessary plugins, you can consider some advanced options. It involves opening a blog section, e-commerce shop if applicable, a forum for discussion, and make your website available in multiple languages.

  • Whatever your website is about, you should open a blog section. The posts will be informative and valuable to your readers. It will help build the website’s reputation over the years.
  • Starting an e-commerce site is not an option for all. So, do it if you have enough resources and opportunities. Otherwise, go for other earning choices from your website.
  • Another great thing to do like blogging is opening a board or forum for discussion. It will help answer the questions faced by hundreds of people and answered by the professionals. And the best thing is that you won’t have to pay.
  • The last important thing is to choose a niche that is borderless and make the website in multiple languages. For example, if you are working with water filters, you will get readers from all over the world. With multiple language support, your website will grow by the day internationally.

Considering all of those written above, you can realize that it will increase your readers’ engagement. As a result, you will become an authority within a few years. That is the ultimate goal of shining like a diamond among other ordinary websites.

Get Necessary Plugins and Go Further

We all know that too many plugins are bad for your website. But the necessity of some can’t be ignored due to some reasons. For example, ensuring search engine optimization for your articles need a plugin. You can do it manually but the time it will take is now worth.

Okay, you will be able to optimize manually but how can you stop comment spamming? Google takes it seriously and you need to make sure that your site does not get a penalty.

So, are you planning to code to solve the issue and reinvent the wheel? Or, use a plugin that is already loved by millions and works without affecting much of the website’s speed.

Moreover, how are you planning for securing payments through your website? Or how will you manage marketing by mailing to your subscribers? It is insane to mail one by one and you will probably need 3 days to just finish one promotion.

With many more, those are the reasons that you should consider getting the necessary plugins. We are not talking about specific plugin names and their benefits. Because we have already talked about all the necessary plugins you need for your website.

With that knowledge, you will be able to increase the performance of your website. Thus, the path to becoming an authority website will no longer be a dream. Depending on your niche and industry, you will need different sets of plugins.

Design as You Like

I will add this part later. This part will come as an update. Which will have a good impression in search ranking. Please start uploading the rest of the parts.

? Get familiar with the WordPress UI

? Pick a theme/design for your website

? Adjust your site navigation

Add and Publish Content

Before you proceed, a few basic ideas are needed to be cleared. This is for the sake of WordPress for beginners. You can compare making a website for building construction. In a building, you will notice multiple floors and a few apartments on each floor.

Most probably, you have already known about the foundation which involves getting a domain name, hosting, installing WordPress, and choosing a theme. So, we will talk about the things you need to do after those steps.

The structure of a WordPress website is similar to that having multiple pages and a few posts published on each page. The pages need to be built first and then you will decide which pages have some fixed contents and which pages will have the posts.

Depending on that, let’s divide this portion into 2 main parts. The first part involves creating a page with static or fixed content. And, the second part involves creating posts and assigning them to their respective pages.

Part 1: Creating Pages

How to Create Pages in WordPress CMS.

On every website, there are some basic pages like Contact, About, Portfolio, Our Mission, or something else depending on its type. Let’s see the steps for creating a page and how you can publish it.

  • It all begins by logging in “yourdomain.com/wpadmin” and going to the WordPress Dashboard. Then, on the left side, you will see an option called Pages. Click on that and select the option called “Add New”.
  • Clicking on “Add New”, you will see a window with some editing options for your new page. Let’s see what those options do.
  • The box with “Enter Title Here” is ready to take a title for the page.
  • The large blank area right below the writing editing section will take the content for your page. Those tools will help you having text editing features like bold, italics, aligning text, etc.
  • On the top left corner, you will see an option called Add Media to add images.
  • There are 2 options on the top right corner side by side called Visual and Text. If you are capable of programming in HTML, you can click Text and do some editing.
  • After that, you can choose whether to allow comments from your readers by selecting “Allow Comments” from the Discussion box at the bottom.
  • Also, there is an option called Featured Image on the bottom right side which will be shown on your page for more attraction.
  • Finally, you can publish the page after completing the customization by clicking on the Publish button placed on the right side. Don’t worry if you forgot to add or modify something as you will be able to edit the page whenever you want.

Part 2: Creating Posts

How to Create Pages in WordPress CMS.

This part is unnecessary unless you want a blog section on your website. We recommend you to have a blog section because it helps your readers with valuable information. It will help you build a reputation and trust in the community.

To do this, create a page called Blog following the above process, create posts following the steps below, and publish the post. Right now, don’t bother thinking about how it will appear on the blog page as you will know at the end of the steps.

  • First of all, you need to write a very informative and interesting article on a relevant topic of your niche.
  • After that, go to the dashboard like before and select Posts option from the left bar. From that option, you will see Add New button and click it for creating the new post.
  • On the big blank space, you will copy and paste the article.
  • Next, you will see several text editing tools on top or you can use content builders for more attractive customizations.
  • Once you are done editing, hit the Publish button and your post will be exposed to millions of people.

Now, do you remember that we told you to create a page called Blog? If you have created it, you should do one more thing so that the posts appear on this new page.

  • Go to your dashboard, select the Settings and the Reading option after that from the left tab. There, you will see homepage display settings and Posts Page option. Click on the box and select Blog which you created earlier.

That is it and you are almost set to reach your readers. We gave you an example of constructing a building that is similar to building a website. You know every building has a navigation chart where you can see which floor has the apartments, the GYM, the Prayer Hall, the Party Room, or anything else.

Like that, you will have to arrange the Menu bar of your website so that the readers know immediately where they will get their desired information. This is a small task which won’t take more than 2 minutes.

Menu Editing

A complete guide for beginners about how to edit menu from WordPress CMS.
  • Again, go to the dashboard, select Appearance from the left side, and click on the Menus option.
  • When the editing options appear before you, you will see the previously created pages are all listed on the left.
  • Put a tick mark on the names of the pages that you want to appear on the Menu bar.
  • After that, rearrange the series under the Menu Structure. The top page here will appear on top of the rightmost position of the menu. So, just drag one and put it in your desired position.
  • Finally, check the Primary Menu option from the Menu Settings below and click on the Save Menu option.

That will be all on this part and you will see the Menu, the Pages, and the Posts if you see a Preview of your website.

Promote and Grow Your Website

After you have done all the steps above, your next step will be growing your website. There are many ways you can promote and grow it. But you have to keep in mind that your website has to serve well to the visitors. You have to add value to your content, no matter what type of website it is.

For example, if you have an educational website you have to make sure you are adding solid relevant content that is helping the students or other targeted visitors. If you have an online store then make sure your customers clearly understand the sales, offers, and discounts. You can also add products demonstrating videos which can help the customers. Those are called pillar contents, by which your visitor will stick to your website before you have started promoting it.

Now it’s time for actual promoting or driving traffic towards your website. There are many ways you can make traffic but do not focus on instant traffic only. To gain consistently growing visitors you have to focus on both short-term and long-term traffic. Plus, try to apply paid methods rather than free ones. You will notice the difference is tremendous. Let’s see some promotional strategies to grow your website.

Guest Posting:  You can publish your article on other famous websites as a guest and add the backlink to your site. By this method, the audience can find your new website easily and you can establish your authority. By guest posting, you can also make sure higher engagement from new visitors. Besides, you can also invite other guests to write on your website.

Collaborating: Collect the email address of famous bloggers and email them asking if they want to collaborate with you. In this way, they can feature you in their blog and you can find more visitors. You can also ask to add the backlink of your site. But you need to be careful and use the right strategies. This method is a bit tricky and your email can be spam if you are not detailed enough. This is why it is important that you use tools to find email and filter them out.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is one of the most important ways for driving traffic toward your website. It helps your website to rank higher in the search engine. So that whenever people search for a specific niche or keywords, your website comes on top. And visitors tend to visit the top sites the most.

Learn more about recent and updated SEO strategies in 2020. (will link to medium)

Social Media: Social media is another great way to drive more traffic. Facebook ad is one of the easiest ways to gain traffic. You will get plenty of options for targeting your audience for your website. And the targeted audiences are more likely to become your new customers or visitors. You can also use Instagram, Twitter, and Pinterest for your marketing purpose. Always inspire your customers to share the content with their social media also.

Long-Tail Keyword: If you are already done with your short-tail or focus keywords, it’s time to go for long-tail keywords. As people more frequently search with short-tail keywords, it is difficult to rank top with that. On the other hand, with a long-tail keyword, you can easily rank high and a higher rank means more traffic. When people search for something more specific or details, they tend to go for long-tail keywords.

Blog: Blog is another effective way to drive traffic. It is also called content marketing. If you saw the statistics, more than 50% of marketers make blogging one of their top marketing priorities. Blogging is pretty upfront as you publish an article based on the niche of your website. WordPress has its blogging tools by which you can publish your blogs easily.

But you have to keep in mind that before you start all this, you have to research the traffic potential of your specific niche. It would be best if you go for the one which has enough traffic to reach for.

The Last Things before Going Live

We all do a final check before going out for traveling. The thing is that it is difficult to manage certain items in the middle of the road. That applies to all situations where you are doing some complex job.

Likewise, launching a website is like a journey as well as not an easy or simple task. So, we prepared a list of a few things that will help you after the launch. Let’s not miss the points as each one is as important as the others.

Here you go:

  • With other basic WordPress settings, you need to install a plugin for a custom “Website under Construction” or “Coming Soon” page. If you know the coding, you will be great in any situation.
  • While you keep it up for months, you must spend time making other pages, and posts and shaping the WordPress theme.
  • After that, look for any grammatical or spelling mistakes in the important spots or zones.
  • Images take a lot of memories of a certain page and that is why you need to optimize them as SEO friendly along with alt text.
  • Next, you should carefully put the links inside the articles and check if every link is alive.
  • Configuring WordPress settings and signing up for Google Analytics are discussed above.
  • Now, check very carefully for browser compatibility and mobile optimization. You know that most of the readers are smartphone users and the optimization will decrease bad experiences regarding speed.
  • Customizing any website is done according to search engine optimization. You can choose different countries with different search engines and improve accordingly.
  • Finally, install some recommended plugins that will increase the security of your website.

If you can ensure all those things mentioned above, you can sleep assured that you have a clean, functioning, and healthy website. With spam comment prevention and user information security, the readers will feel at home. Lastly, don’t forget to keep a backup of your website so that you stay prepared for any situation.

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