How to Use WordPress: A Beginner’s Guide to Getting Started

Step 1: Purchase a Domain Name and Hosting Plan

If you want to build a website pinch WordPress, you person 2 options:

1. A tract hosted connected WordPress.com

With this model, you adhd your tract to nan existing web astatine WordPress.com and take nan scheme that’s correct for you. You tin get a free site, but features will beryllium very limited.

2. A self-hosted tract via WordPress.org

This is simply a tract you instal connected hosting abstraction you bargain from a hosting provider. WordPress.org package is free, truthful you only person to salary for web hosting. You’ll find you get overmuch much elasticity pinch this model, and nan tract is yours; it doesn’t beryllium to nan group astatine WordPress.com.

In this tutorial, we’re going to show really to create a website utilizing nan self-hosted WordPress option. So we’re going to request a hosting scheme and domain sanction to get started.

Discount for Managed Hosting With SiteGround

SiteGround is 1 of nan astir celebrated WordPress hosting options. Here are immoderate of nan reasons why millions of WordPress users take SiteGround: 

• Fast and reliable hosting
• One-click WordPress installer
• Free master support
• Auto-updates
• Free regular backups
• Free SSL certificate

We're happy to beryllium capable to connection a immense discount of up to 75% disconnected managed WordPress hosting, acknowledgment to our business pinch SiteGround.

You tin hunt for and bargain a domain sanction erstwhile you complete your hosting purchase. SiteGround simplifies nan full process.

Step 2: Install WordPress

You tin instal WordPress successful 1 of 2 ways:

1. Use an auto-installer your hosting supplier gives you (which is nan easier way)
2. Install WordPress manually connected your server (which is somewhat much reliable)

If you’re caller to creating websites, usage your host’s one-click WordPress installer.  (Or WordPress + WooCommerce for ecommerce sites.)

We’ve created a guideline to installing WordPress. It will locomotion you done some WordPress setup options: 

Step 3: Get Acquainted pinch nan WordPress Admin Screens

After you’ve installed WordPress and logged in, you’ll spot nan WordPress admin screens. This will ever beryllium your location base.

The paper links connected nan near lead you to nan main areas of WordPress you’ll usage to create and negociate your designs, content, plugins, users, settings, and more:

Dashboard

This is nan main dashboard, which acts arsenic a shortcut to nan remainder of your site. Using nan Screen Options tab successful nan top-right corner, you tin customize what benignant of accusation aliases shortcuts look connected this screen.

Media

This is nan room wherever each of your media uploads live. It includes:

• Logos
• Images
• Videos
• Audio files
• File attachments

If you import immoderate taxable demos aliases pre-built sites, nan contented will look present arsenic well.

Pages

You’ll adhd and customize nan main pages of your website successful this section. 

Specialized pages for illustration blog posts, ecommerce merchandise pages, and others will not look here. They’ll person their ain dedicated sections successful nan WordPress menu.

Appearance

There are various devices successful this conception that will let you to configure nan measurement your tract looks. 

• Themes contains each your progressive and inactive themes. 
• Widgets can beryllium adjuvant for creating sidebar and footer content. 
• Menus is wherever you create nan website navigation.

Customizer allows you to do things for illustration upload your logo and favicon, group world colors and fonts, group default page structures, and more. Your taxable whitethorn travel pinch its ain customization sheet arsenic well, truthful you’ll request to usage both.

Plugins

When you request to adhd other features aliases functionality to your website, plugins supply a accelerated and convenient measurement to build them out. With conscionable a mates clicks, you tin group up things for illustration Google Analytics, a unrecorded chat widget, and a information monitor. 

Users

You mightiness want to adhd much users to WordPress — to negociate nan site, constitute blog posts, troubleshoot, and truthful on. Use this area to adhd caller users and delegate them entree privileges depending connected what they request WordPress for.

Settings

These are nan basal settings for WordPress. Review them to do things for illustration group nan location page, restrict comments, negociate media sizes, and more.

Posts and Comments

If you commencement a blog, you’ll usage these sections often. Posts is wherever you’ll create each caller introduction for your blog. It looks akin to Pages, isolated from location are further settings for Categories, Tags, and truthful on. 

Comments is wherever you’ll negociate immoderate comments your contented receives. 

Other Menu Links

When you instal plugins, you’ll find that immoderate of them adhd other items to nan admin menus. Premium themes thin to do this arsenic well. Some adhd much items to nan existing menus and immoderate (increasingly, these days) adhd a caller main-level paper item. 

Take immoderate clip to research these admin screens and spot what they do. You’ll find they make much consciousness erstwhile you commencement adding contented and installing plugins and themes, which we’ll travel to shortly.

Step 4: Set Up a Theme

Every WordPress tract needs a theme. This is nan codification that determines really your tract looks and really it displays your content.

When you first participate WordPress, nan default taxable will beryllium installed and activated for you. WordPress names these themes according to nan year, truthful it’ll beryllium called thing for illustration Twenty Twenty-Four.

Sticking pinch nan default taxable will make your tract look conscionable for illustration millions of others, truthful it’s worthy changing it. 

There are thousands of awesome themes retired there, and you’ll find immoderate free ones successful nan WordPress.org taxable repository. You’ll find these aforesaid themes successful your WordPress installation.

There are 2 ways to find and instal a free taxable from WordPress. Go to Appearance > Themes. Install and activate immoderate taxable you want from this screen.

Another measurement to do it is via Appearance > Customize. If you usage nan Customizer, you tin preview what your taxable will look for illustration earlier you activate it.

You tin instal arsenic galore themes arsenic you for illustration and effort them out. But you tin only person 1 activated. 

If you want a taxable pinch much elasticity and features, see buying a premium taxable from a supplier for illustration Envato Market. Premium themes thin to person much creation demos and templates, widget areas, options for navigation and layout, niche features, and much customization options.

Once you’ve settled connected a theme, walk immoderate clip configuring its settings. 

Start by going to Appearance > Customize once more. Upload your logo, group your world colors, take your fonts, and configure different settings arsenic needed.

If your taxable has added a abstracted conception to nan paper links connected nan left, spell done nan settings location 1 astatine a clip arsenic well. The much you do here, nan little customizing you’ll person to do connected a page-by-page basis. 

The Best WordPress Themes connected ThemeForest

While you tin do a batch pinch free themes, location are limits to what you tin execute pinch them. If you are creating master WordPress sites, yet you will want to research paid themes. 

You’ll find thousands of nan best WordPress themes ever created connected ThemeForest. These high-quality WordPress themes will amended nan website acquisition for some you and your visitors. 

Step 5: Install WordPress Plugins

Plugins are codification that you adhd to your tract for other features and functionality. But don’t worry: you don’t really activity pinch nan code. You’ll make decisions astir really you want each plugin to activity utilizing a assortment of settings.

To instal a plugin, spell to Plugins > Add New. From here, you tin take from celebrated plugins aliases hunt for plugins pinch circumstantial features. Click nan Install fastener to instal a plugin and past nan Activate fastener to activate it.

Learn much astir installing plugins successful our guide.

Once activated, you tin negociate your plugins from nan Plugins screen. Here you tin update plugins, deactivate and activate them, and delete them if you nary longer request them. It’s wise to support your plugins up to day truthful they enactment accelerated and unafraid capable to use.

Also cheque nan paper connected nan left. You’ll find your caller plugin has settings to configure location arsenic well. Some plugins whitethorn look nether paper links for illustration Settings or Tools while others person their ain freestanding paper area. 

There are a fewer plugins I ever instal connected a caller WordPress site:

• Page builder plugin
• Contact shape plugin
• Backup plugin
• Security plugin
• Caching plugin
• SEO plugin

Discover nan champion WordPress plugins to usage successful each of these categories by watching our free course:

Installing plugins for illustration these will make judge your tract is unafraid and fast, and that group tin find it. 

The Best WordPress Plugins connected CodeCanyon

The WordPress free plugin repository has tens of thousands to take from. 

You tin besides find top-quality master WordPress plugins connected CodeCanyon. These plugins travel pinch free support and life upgrades and tin thief return your tract to nan adjacent level. 

Here are immoderate recommendations to thief you get started pinch WordPress plugins: 

Step 6: Add Pages

You’re astir apt itching to commencement creating immoderate content. Before you start, make judge you person each nan pages you need. 

When you instal a free, generic WordPress theme, nan auto-generated creation usually includes basal pages for illustration Home, About, and Contact. 

Premium WordPress themes thin to travel pinch overmuch bigger website demos and templates. Depending connected nan website type, location whitethorn beryllium pages like:

• Services
• Portfolio
• Projects
• Testimonials
• FAQs
• Staff
• Resources

They whitethorn besides travel pinch a pre-built shop aliases blog. Unlike nan page examples above, though, these civilization station types are managed successful different areas successful WordPress. 

For now, let’s attraction connected pages since they location nan mostly of your website’s content. 

To adhd a caller page, click Pages > Add New. This takes you to nan editing screen.

Give nan page a title and click Save draft successful nan top-right corner. Repeat this process until you person each nan pages group up that you request to commencement with.

Want a much elaborate look astatine really to create caller pages aliases blog posts connected your website? This tutorial will get you started:

Step 7: Create Your Content

Your taxable is going to beryllium a immense clip saver. Rather than build your website’s pages and layouts from-scratch, a batch of that activity will beryllium done for you already.

That said, nan existing contented successful nan template needs to beryllium replaced pinch your own. 

Take this process page by page. For pages created by your theme, activity connected editing nan pre-populated content. For caller pages you’ve created, adhd caller contented utilizing blocks. 

Types of blocks include:

• Paragraphs
• Headings
• Lists
• Images
• Videos
• Tables
• Buttons

You tin besides adhd formatting pinch blocks, for illustration spaces, separators, and columns. 

As you instal plugins, you whitethorn find your database of blocks has expanded arsenic well. For example, a interaction shape plugin usually adds a shape artifact truthful you tin easy embed it connected nan page (as opposed to utilizing a shortcode).

Publishing and Editing

Once you’re happy pinch each page, usage nan Preview fastener to spot what it looks for illustration connected nan frontend of your website. When it’s bully to go, usage nan Publish fastener to make it live. 

By nan way, you tin edit your pages and civilization station types astatine immoderate time, moreover aft they’ve been published. Just click connected Posts aliases Pages and past prime nan station aliases page you want to edit. Make nan changes and click nan Update button.

Step 8: Edit Your Site’s Settings

So now you’ve sewage immoderate content. It’s clip to tweak nan wide settings for your site. You’ll do this via nan Settings menu.

Settings you tin edit include:

General: Add nan basics astir your website for illustration nan tract title, URL, admin’s email (if it’s not you) arsenic good arsenic default settings related to wherever you’re located.

Writing: You only request to edit these settings if your website will person a blog. In that case, you tin group defaults and alteration emailing-in posts (which I wouldn’t recommend).

Reading: Designate a page for your location page. It tin beryllium 1 of nan pages you conscionable created aliases your blog feed. In addition, make judge nan “Discourage hunt engines” checkbox is unchecked truthful that your tract tin beryllium indexed and classed successful hunt results. 

Discussion: If you person a blog, usage these settings to find who tin remark and what nan rules for commenting are. 

Media: Set nan default image sizes. This isn’t necessary, but it tin beryllium adjuvant if you person aggregate group contributing to your tract aliases blog.

Permalinks: Enable beautiful permalinks here, which will make your URLs look nicer and amended your SEO.

Privacy: Set up your privateness argumentation page. WordPress tin thief you group 1 up aliases you tin prime a civilization 1 you’ve made connected your ain (or pinch a plugin).

Step 9: Set Up nan Navigation

The navigation paper is essential. Without it, group won’t beryllium capable to get astir your site. 

You tin create arsenic galore navigation menus arsenic you want by going to Appearance > Menus. However, astir websites person conscionable 1 that appears successful nan header of their website — either arsenic a horizontal drawstring of links aliases nether a vertical hamburger (dropdown) menu. 

To start, create 1 for nan header. Give it a sanction for illustration Main Menu and group nan Display location to Primary Menu. Click nan Create menu fastener to make it.

To build it out, usage nan sheet connected nan near to adhd pages, posts, civilization links, and categories to nan navigation. 

Check nan ones you want to see and click Add to Menu. You tin past drag-and-drop nan various pages truthful that they look successful nan bid you want them to. You tin besides move them inward truthful that they driblet down from a top-level paper link. 

Save your changes. 

If you unfastened up your website now, you should spot each of these pages — successful this bid and level — astatine nan apical of your site. 

Step 10: Manage Your Site

Once you’ve created your tract and added contented to it, your occupation isn’t done. You’ll request to negociate it connected an ongoing basis.

This includes:

• Keeping nan package up to day — some WordPress itself and your themes and plugins. You’ll spot alerts connected nan Dashboard > Updates screen erstwhile caller updates are available.
• Adding caller contented connected a regular basis.
• Dealing pinch immoderate information and capacity issues.
• Working connected your SEO to get much visitors.
• Sharing your contented via societal media and different channels (which you tin automate pinch a scope of plugins).

Keep connected apical of your website, and it will activity harder for you. A stagnant tract will driblet done nan hunt motor rankings and extremity up costing you much than it’s worth. 

But if you negociate it regularly, it will stay a valuable plus for you and your business.

Summary

If your extremity is to build a awesome website, WordPress is nan measurement to go. 

Working pinch WordPress isn’t arsenic difficult arsenic immoderate group whitethorn show you. Once you’ve installed nan package and gotten acquainted pinch nan admin screens, that’s erstwhile nan nosy begins. 

While you could easy propulsion thing together successful a mates hours, walk immoderate clip pinch your site. Find a beautiful WordPress taxable for it, adhd cool features and functionality, and create contented that captures nan attraction of visitors and makes them want to return action.  

Over time, you’ll spot your contented grow and your visitant numbers grow. Enjoy!