Step-by-Step Guide to Building A Website With WordPress

Building a website with WordPress has never been more accessible thanks to its features and ease of use when combined with the right WordPress Hosting. The platform’s intuitive nature and easy content management provide the flexibility and tools needed for you to build your own site without needing extensive coding and web design knowledge. Whether you’re launching a blog or setting up an online store, this step-by-step guide will walk you through every step of the process, from choosing a web hosting service to going live with your finished web pages.

Before You Start Building a Website with WordPress

Before you can begin building a website with WordPress, you need to choose and sign up with a web hosting provider and register a domain name.

Choosing a Hosting Provider

There are different types of hosting for beginner WordPress users, each suited to different needs and budgets when building websites. Shared hosting is the cheapest option, making it ideal for smaller websites. However, if you expect large amounts of traffic or need increased security and performance, managed WordPress hosting would be the better choice.

This is because these plans offer specialized features to make site management and maintenance easier, including automatic updates and backups, enhanced security features, server-level caching, and expert WordPress support.

Ensure your host meets WordPress’s minimum technical requirements:

• PHP version 8.1 or higher (7.4 is the minimum, but later versions give better performance and security)
• MySQL Database 8.0 or higher
• HTTPS support for encrypted data transfer connections
• Server memory (RAM) of at least 512MB but ideally 2GB or more.

Most hosting plans range from $7-$22 per month depending on features and server resource allocation (CPU, RAM, disk storage). Choose a plan that balances your budget with your website needs. When looking at costs, in addition to the monthly fee make sure you factor in the following for your new WordPress website:

• Bandwidth limitations
• Number of websites allowed
• Email accounts with your own domain name
• SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates
• Backup and recovery features
• Support from WordPress experts

Your domain name is your website’s address on the Internet and part of your brand identity. When choosing one make sure to keep it short and memorable, avoid numbers and hyphens if possible and it is easy to spell and pronounce.

Many WordPress hosts offer free domain name registration services. After you’ve decided on yours, the process is generally as follows:

1. Checking availability
2. Selecting registration duration (1-10 years)
3. Providing registrant/personal information (name, email address, phone)
4. Adding privacy protection
5. Completing the purchase

After securing your domain and hosting, they’ll need to be connected. This is usually done by your host and involves updating nameservers at your domain provider, waiting for DNS (Domain Name System) propagation (usually 24-48 hours), configuring DNS records, and setting up SSL certificates.

WordPress Installation

Once you’ve completed the above, the next step is installing WordPress. You have two main installation methods: automated through your hosting provider’s control panel or manual.

For most users, the best way to install WordPress is through your hosting provider. Most hosting control panels include automated installers like Softaculous. This is usually a one-click installation tool that handles the entire process, from database creation to file uploads in a few simple steps.

1. Log into your control panel
2. Locate the installer icon or section
3. Click “Install WordPress”/”Install Now” to start the process.
4. Follow the on-screen instructions.
5. Enter your domain name, site title, admin username, and password.
6. Click the “Install” button, and the installer will handle the rest.

Once complete, you’ll have access to the WordPress admin dashboard and can start setting up your new website, which we’ll cover in the next section.

Manual Installation

If you prefer a more hIf you prefer a more hands-on approach and are comfortable with it, you can install WordPress manually. While more complex, this method gives you complete control over the process.

1. Download the latest WordPress software version from WordPress.org and extract the file to your computer.
2. Use phpMyAdmin or a similar database management tool to create a MySQL database and assign user permissions. Note down the database name, username, password, and database host.
3. Use an FTP (File Transfer Protocol) client like FileZilla) to upload the WordPress files to your web server.
4. Create and configure the wp-config.php file in the root directory, add database details, and generate and add security keys. Save and upload
5. Run the installation script by visiting the installation URL in your browser e.g. “yourdomain/wp-admin/install.php”.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions, enter site information and create your admin account, provide the database details and other required information.

Note: While manual installation offers more flexibility, it requires a basic understanding of FTP (File Transfer Protocol) and database management. It’s recommended that website owners use the automated method to avoid errors or corrupted website files.

Building Your WordPress Site

Basic Set Up

After installing the core software, you can start building and customizing how your new site looks. This includes configuring basic settings, using a free website platform like Elementor or the Jetpack app, adding a theme, and installing plugins.

Navigate to the Settings menu in your WordPress admin dashboard to set a site title. This is the main title of your website and will be displayed on your landing page and in search engine results. Make sure it is clear, descriptive, and represents your business.

Your tagline is a brief website description, below the site title. It should communicate the content of your website, helping visitors understand what they can expect.

Reading settings let you control how your site content is displayed. Choose whether your custom homepage shows your latest posts or a static page. You can also set the number of blog posts per page and how they’re organized for the best user experience.

Discussion settings manage how visitors engage with your content. The default settings let you control comment and trackback settings for new posts. You can also set moderation and manual approval to control spam or require users to register.

After that, you can use WordPress’s built-in website-building features instead of website design services including: 

• Page Builder: Add new pages and design custom layouts without knowing how to code using drag-and-drop block patterns.
• Custom Post Types: Create custom content types like products and new posts.
• Custom Taxonomies: Use custom categories and tags to organize your content for easy navigation in product or blog searches.

Theme Selection

WordPress themes form the design, appearance, and functionality of your site with pre-designed page templates. Begin by exploring the free theme library and consider relevance, color schemes, layout flexibility, and built-in features when deciding. Ensure it is responsive and displays your site consistently across desktop and mobile devices.

WordPress’s site editor and design tools allow for extensive modification for any type of website like portfolio websites or online stores without coding knowledge such as changing colors, fonts, header designs, and page layouts. There is a wide range of premium themes from WordPress.com plans available should you not find the one you want or need more customization options.

Adding Plugins

Plugins extend functionality by adding features and tools like contact forms, ecommerce capabilities, and more to your website pages. Like themes, the best part is there are thousands of free plugins and premium versions. 

 When adding plugins, remember that quality beats quantity. Each one adds to your site’s complexity, requiring more server resources. Regularly update and audit your installed plugins to maintain site performance.

For security, install plugins that protect against potential cyber threats. Look for features like malware scanning and removal, two-factor authentication, intrusion detection, and regular scans.

SEO (Search Engine Optimization) tools help improve your website’s visibility in search results attracting more organic traffic. Choose ones that help optimize content and provide integration with Google Analytics.

Performance plugins help take your site’s page speed and responsiveness to the next level. The best WordPress performance tools that offer caching, image optimization, and database cleanup. These help your website load quickly for a smooth user experience and potentially improve search engine rankings.

Content Creation and Organization

Content creation and organization are the core of your WordPress business website. By managing it correctly the first time, you can build professional websites that provide an engaging user experience.

Page Structure

Building a website with WordPress starts with having a logical page structure that guides visitors through your content. Each one should serve a specific purpose and provide clear, concise information. The main pages should include:

• Homepage: The first page visitors see. It should give an overview of your site’s purpose and provide easy access to important content.
• About Us: Introduce your business, team, mission, and values.
• Contact Page: Provide contact information (email, phone, etc.) and a contact form.
• Product Page: Information on your offerings with images/videos and descriptions.
• Blog Page: Share news, tips, insights, and any relevant topics.

Posts and Categories

Creating posts and organizing them with categories and tags is how you can get your website visitors engaged and stay on your site. When creating blog posts, you need to provide valuable, relevant content that addresses your audience’s needs, questions, or interests.

Have informative and well-structured posts with titles at attract attention with relevant keywords and add images and media like video tutorials. Best practices include grouping related posts into logical categories with subcategories for more specific topics. Use tags to categorize them. Add meta titles, descriptions, and keywords to improve SEO.

Media Management

When it comes to managing your site’s media, use high-quality, relevant images that enhance your content with descriptive alt text to improve accessibility and SEO. Compress images before uploading to reduce file sizes while maintaining quality and resolution.

Make sure you resize images and that they are in the correct format (JPEG, PNG, WebP) before uploading. Clean up any unused or old media files to prevent library bloat and perform regular backups after you build your site.

Enhancing Your Site

Enhancing your WordPress website by adding forms, internal linking, SEO optimization, and analytics tracking, helps you create a user-friendly, online presence.

Adding Contact Forms

WordPress offers multiple ways to add contact forms, from basic plugins to advanced form-building tools with live chat. Popular options include Contact Form 7 WPForms, and Gravity Forms. When designing your contact form keep it simple and focus on essential information with fields for name, email address, phone number (optional), and message. Have a clear CTA and implement CAPTCHA or reCAPTCHA to prevent spam.

Internal Linking

Internal linking improves website navigation and enhances user experience. Focus on creating natural, contextually relevant links that provide additional value to users and help them spend more time on your site by connecting related content. Have a well-organized navigation menu and use descriptive anchor text to improve SEO.

Note: When implementing internal links, prioritize user experience over SEO. Links should feel organic and helpful and avoid adding too many.

Optimize for SEO

Search engine optimization is critical for improving your website’s visibility and attracting organic traffic. Research relevant keywords for your target audience and avoid keyword stuffing. Make sure to use them naturally in your content, titles, meta descriptions, and headers.

Optimize your website’s technical SEO elements with a clear, logical structure and a mobile-responsive design. Create an XML sitemap to help search engines understand and index your content better.

Set up Google Analytics to track website traffic, the number of visitors and page views, and how visitors interact with your website. As a small business owner, this will help you measure conversions and user actions while giving you insights to improve your search engine performance.

Launching Your New WordPress Website

Now that you have configured your site settings, created pages, added content, and optimized for performance and SEO, you are ready to start the publishing process. Before launching your own website, it’s important to prepare before you publish.

Test it testing across multiple browsers and devices to ensure it displays and performs consistently. Use performance testing tools like Google PageSpeed Insights, to analyze your site’s loading times.

Run a final check to ensure everything works as it should. Start with checking pages for spelling errors and broken links, and that all images load and display correctly. Create a complete website backup including databases, themes, plugins, and media files. This helps protect against potential data loss during the launch process.

Publishing Your Site

The going live process generally involves the following steps:

1: Check Domain and Hosting

Check DNS settings to ensure they point to the correct server and that your website can be accessed using your domain name. Do a final hosting check to make sure the environment meets WordPress’s technical requirements.

2: Submit to Search Engines

Generate an XML sitemap using a plugin or manually and submit it to Google Search Console and other relevant search engines. This helps them discover, crawl, and index your website’s pages.

3: Set Up Google Search Console

This verifies to Google that you own your site. You can use it to monitor search traffic, identify indexing issues, and understand how search engines perceive your website.

4: Configure robots.txt File:

Create a robots.txt file to instruct search engine crawlers which pages to index and which to avoid. You can also specify which bots are allowed to access your site and add a disallow directive for specific pages or directories that you don’t want to be indexed.

5: Enable HTTPS

Install and activate an SSL certificate for secure data transfer so that all traffic is redirected to HTTPS (not HTTP). This improves security, user trust, and SEO.

6: Monitoring and Testing

Keep an eye on your website’s performance to fix any issues promptly. Tools like Pingdom monitor your uptime and performance and can send alerts for downtime, slow load times, or other issues. Always test your site thoroughly testing after clicking “Add Site” to troubleshoot potential problems and make the necessary adjustments.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Carefully choosing WordPress hosting and a domain name creates a strong foundation for your website’s performance, credibility, and growth.
• While installing WordPress might seem technical, automation tools make it easier for beginners and users of all skill levels than manual methods.
• Proper initial configuration and carefully selected themes and plugins form the backbone of a secure, functional website.
• A well-organized site structure with high-quality content ensures better user experience and easier management.
• Enhancing your WordPress site helps make it into a professional, data-driven platform that effectively engages visitors and tracks performance.
• Thorough testing and optimization before publishing help prevent common issues and ensure a smooth website launch.

FAQs

Other Articles of Interest

– History of WordPress Hosting: Evolution and Milestones

– The Impact of Hosting Speed on Your WordPress Site’s SEO

– A Comprehensive Guide on WordPress Hosting Security

– The Role of PHP Web Hosting for WordPress

– The Basics of MySQL and WordPress Database Management