Everything You Need to Know to Start a WordPress Website
If you want to start blogging, the first thing you need to know is that it isn’t hard. In fact, you don’t even need to be technically proficient in order to write your own blog. However, there are still some things you should know about how WordPress works and how you can use it most effectively on your site, so let’s get started with this guide on how to start a WordPress blog!
Pick a Domain Name and Hosting
Choosing a domain name is the first step in setting up your WordPress blog. It’s important that the name is easy to remember, but also conveys something about what you’re blogging about. Once you’ve chosen your domain name, it’s time to choose your hosting package. There are two basic types of hosting: shared and dedicated. Shared hosts provide space on their server for multiple blogs at once, while dedicated hosts provide more space for just one site. If you don’t have much money or know how much traffic your website will receive, shared hosting may be the way to go because it’s typically cheaper and easier to manage than dedicated hosting.
Install WordPress
WordPress is one of the most popular blogging platforms in the world, so it only makes sense that it’s also one of the easiest to install. There are two main ways you can install WordPress: manually or through your hosting company. If you choose to go with manual installation, you’ll need FTP access and knowledge about HTML and CSS. If you have a hosting account, then you’ll have an easier time installing WordPress through your cPanel dashboard. Either way, this process is relatively simple.
Choose a WordPress Theme
It’s hard to choose the perfect WordPress theme, but luckily there are some great resources out there. Check out these two posts: The Best WordPress Themes and The 11 Best Free WordPress Themes. Once you’ve chosen a theme, you’ll need to install it. Downloading and installing themes is easy–all you need is your FTP client (we like FileZilla) for this step. Just upload the new theme’s folder into the wp-content/themes directory of your site, then activate it from your WordPress dashboard.
Configure Your Settings
Once you have your WordPress blog set up, it’s time to configure the settings. Click on Settings in the navigation bar and scroll down until you see Writing and Publishing. Here is where you can customize your preferred post format as well as choose how many posts are published on each page. You’ll also be able to add an email address for yourself or someone else who will receive notifications when comments are posted.
Create Essential Pages
The following are essential pages for every WordPress blog: Home, About, Contact, and Privacy. The Home page is where you should post your latest blog posts and other important updates, while the About page is where you can write about yourself and why you started your blog. The Contact page is perfect for giving readers all of your contact information (e.g., email address and social media handles), while the Privacy page is best used when you want to let people know what they can expect from your blog in terms of privacy.
Install Important Plugins
When you start your WordPress blog, the first thing you should do is install plugins that will help you on your journey. Here are some essential ones: Akismet for spam protection, Yoast SEO for SEO, and Jetpack for sharing on social media. Make sure to always keep these plugins up-to-date.
To install any of these plugins, log in to your WordPress dashboard (look in the top left corner of your screen) and go to Plugins. Then search for the plugin you want and click Install Now or Activate.
Write Your First Blog Post
Have you ever wanted to start your own blog? Maybe you’re looking for an outlet for creative writing, or want to share photos with friends and family. Whatever the reason may be, starting your own wordpress blog is not as daunting of an endeavor as one might think. Here are some things that you need in order to get started:
1. A domain name–Every website needs a domain name that is easy for people to remember and find when they search on Google.
2. A hosting provider–This is what supplies the physical space on a server where your website files will reside so that it can be accessed by anyone who knows the URL.
3. WordPress software–WordPress provides both free and premium options to host blogs. There are also many plugins that can extend the functionality of WordPress beyond just blogging, such as adding galleries, social media integration, and more. Once these three things have been acquired then setting up a WordPress blog is actually quite simple!
Promote Your WordPress Blog
Blogging is no longer just for personal use. There are many benefits of running a blog as an entrepreneur, and now that the world has gone digital, it’s easier than ever to start your own! If you’re looking to share your expertise with the world, or if you want to promote your business online, then starting a WordPress blog is the way to go. Here are some tips on how you can get started.
1. Decide what you want to write about.
When you first start blogging, it may be hard to find content ideas so here are some suggestions: anything related to your profession; lifestyle topics like fashion, cooking, health, travel; hobbies like biking or baking; any advice-related topics like dealing with stress or keeping kids entertained during summer vacation.
2. Choose a blogging platform (or hosting company).
WordPress is the most popular blogging platform but there are other options such as Medium (for long-form journalism) and Tumblr (for pictures and videos).
3. Create your WordPress blog.
Once you have chosen a platform, all you need to do is sign up for an account, create your username and password, add in some information about yourself, and enter the title of your website before choosing a design template. It will take less than 10 minutes from beginning to end!
4. Add posts to your WordPress blog.
Now that you have created the basics of a new WordPress site, it’s time to customize by adding new posts with text or images – each one will represent another piece of content in which you want people to engage with on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter.
