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WordPress powers over 43% of all websites.
WordPress is a trusted platform that has a strong reputation and a loyal user base. It's undoubtedly the best way to create and maintain a website. WordPress is what I use for my business. I believe it makes sense to most people to create a website using this platform.
It's easy to create a WordPress site. In less than an hour, I will show you how to create a WordPress website.
The 2-Minute Cheat Sheet
You don't have the time or patience to read through this entire article. Here's your quick cheat sheet.
This guide is a basic overview. Below you will find detailed information on each step.
Hostinger is my recommendation for starting your WordPress website journey. There are many web hosting providers to choose from. It is reliable, fast loading, and affordable.
Click here to go to Hostinger. Select the WordPress Starter package and Hostinger will handle the rest.
After the setup process is complete, you will be able secure your domain name. This comes as part of your Hostinger WordPress Starter Plan. After selecting your domain, make sure you choose WHOIS privacy.
Hostinger will install WordPress for you. You should familiarize yourself with the setup and choose a theme that best suits your brand.
ThemeForest is my favorite place to find new and interesting themes, but you can also go to WordPress's official directory.
To make your links easier to read and more optimized for SERPs, you should set your permalink structure. This is a crucial step, so don't forget it. You can also use plugins to enhance the functionality of your website, but this is strictly optional.
All that remains is to create amazing content that attracts visitors to your site.
Voila! Now you have a WordPress site that is beautiful, rich in content, and ready to handle traffic.
Let's take a closer look at how it all works. If you have already completed some of these steps, feel free to move on!
- Select a domain name
- Choose a web hosting provider and register a domain name for free
- You can use a theme or design for your website
- Optional: Install plugins
- Configure Important Site Settings
- Promote Your Site and Set Up Important Webpages
Step 1: Select a domain name
Your domain name is your online identity. Your domain name is how your audience finds you and identifies your brand. This is precisely why you need to choose something that represents your brand and makes it easy for people to search their browsers and find you.
However, you have full freedom to choose the domain name. Any name is possible, provided it's not already registered.
Here are some tips to help you choose a great domain name that will be a good fit for your website.
- Make it distinctive and brandable
- It should be memorable
- Keep it brief
- It should be easy to spell, type, and pronounce
- Include niche-related words. If you intend to sell pizza, it makes sense to include pizza in your domain.
Think about it: Doesn't www.pizzahut.com sound better than pizzasellingplace.com? Exactly.
Domain Wheel is a free tool that will help you generate more website names. The tool will provide tons of ideas for you if you simply enter a keyword that is related to your niche.
Once you have chosen a domain name, it is time to verify its availability. It can be difficult to stay unique when there are over 1.8 billion websites online. However, it is definitely worth the effort.
We all love free things so you can register your domain for free when you subscribe to a web hosting company.
Domain registration…
Step 2: Choose a web hosting provider and register a domain name for free
There are many companies that offer web hosting services, and there are tons that will allow you to register new domain names. It would be easier to select a company that offers both web hosting and domain registration.
Case in Point: Hostinger .
This web hosting company is reliable, affordable, user-friendly, and cheap. It also gives you a free domain name. Take it from someone who has built many websites in his career.
Simply go to the Hostinger website by clicking this link. Then click Start and then click Choose under WordPress Starter. This is the most economical hosting package and it includes a domain.
To get the best monthly rate, select the 4-year term on the checkout screen.
Hostinger's wizard will take over after you have created your Hostinger account.
It will ask you some questions about your website's purpose and how comfortable you are with its construction.
Next, choose WordPress as the platform of your choice. It will be installed by a hosting company.
Hostinger will let you choose a theme, but you can skip this step as we'll find a great theme later in this guide.
You're almost done now! Secure your domain.
Next, you will have the option to either purchase a domain name or keep an existing domain you already own. You can search for your domain name by clicking the box to the left.
We did all the work in Step 1, so enter the domain name into the box, and then click the button to select it.
Here's a key point to remember. I recommend WHOIS Privacy at $10/year. It hides personal information such as name, email and phone number so it is not visible in public databases. Security is worth a few extra dollars.
You will find the option to add it right below your chosen domain. You can finish checkout right there, and then you are done!
Hostinger will take just a few moments to complete the WordPress installation and set-up your site.
Hostinger will then take you to your dashboard. This screen will greet you the first time that you visit your dashboard after initial setup.
Click Manage WordPress to be taken to the WordPress dashboard.
You can also see the version of WordPress that has been installed.
Even a new installation of WordPress can be done in the same place.
Now you have your domain and hosting secured. You are ready to launch your WordPress website! It's now time to make it yours.
Step 3: Choose a theme or design for your website
WordPress's greatest USP is its support for themes.
You can change the look of your WordPress website by simply clicking a button. This is an example of what your website will look by default.
Change the appearance of your website by selecting another popular theme for free (I chose Hestia). Now it will look like this.
Find out why theme compatibility is WordPress’s greatest USP.
Select a theme you like
There are many WordPress themes available.
Start by visiting WordPress.org's official directory. There are many other marketplaces and theme stores, including ThemeForest. These third-party websites offer premium and free themes that can be used to modify the website's appearance without altering the content.
You can browse through the various sites to find the one that interests you most.
Install your chosen theme
You can choose a theme from WordPress.org's official directory and hit Install immediately. Here are the steps:
Click on Appearance and then Themes. Next, click on Create New. In the search bar, enter the name of your theme and click the Install link under it.
To activate the feature on your website, click after the installation.
The steps for using a theme purchased from a trusted third party will be slightly different.
Here are the steps to install a premium theme for your website:
- Download the zip file for the new theme.
- Log in to WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Appearance and Themes.
- Click on the New option. The WordPress theme dashboard will then open.
- Click the blue button that appears at the top of your screen and says Upload theme. After the prompt, select the.zip file from the computer.
After a success message, you'll find a link to activate the team. That's it!
Some themes are available for free, but premium themes can be purchased at a higher price. You can choose from options starting at $10 or going up to $200. You can choose the option that best suits your needs and budget.
Step 4: Install plugins (Optional).
To improve the functionality of your site, you can install plugins. These plugins can be thought of as apps for your mobile phone.
To find the best WordPress plugins, you can refer to our guide. However, you are free to choose those that you like most. There are tons of options available for each category, including SEO and website traffic analysis.
However, you should not install too many plugins. This can slow down your website and lead to traffic loss.
They say is much of a bad thing.
Step 5: Configure Important Site Settings
It is extremely important to set up permalinks . This is precisely why you need to do it immediately after creating your WordPress website.
Permalink structure decides how your website links look. It is a representation for your site structure. It looks like this for NeilPatel.com
A good permalink structure will tell your visitor where they are located on your site (in this case, they are in the blog section). While a bad structure may do the opposite. Your SEO ranking will be improved if you have the right permalink structure.
There are many ways you can go wrong. I have created a guide that will help you do it correctly in three steps.
- Click on Settings in your WordPress dashboard and then go to Permalinks.
- Click on Custom Architecture under the Common Settings box.
- It's absurd to choose Numeric, as it will only confuse your visitor. It doesn't do much for SEO purposes.
- Enter the tag string /blog/%postname%/
After you are done, click Save and save your changes.
Step 6: Create important webpages and promote your site
Now that your website is ready, you can start creating high-quality content to increase traffic and convert more customers. Create essential pages like About, Contact Forms, Privacy Policy, Portfolio, Store, and Store (if applicable).
You want more information? Want a step-by–step guide? You can find my guides on how you can start a blog or how to make money blogging.
It is crucial to have optimized content for your website that is relevant and useful to your niche. Do your research thoroughly to find out all you need.
Conclusion
That's it! These six steps are enough to launch a WordPress website.
It all begins with a domain and CMS. Hostinger is a reliable web host provider that will help you launch your website. Keep making improvements to your website and you will quickly build a loyal following.
Are you ready to launch your WordPress website? If so, which web hosting company are you using?
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By: Neil Patel
Title: How To Build a WordPress Website
Sourced From: neilpatel.com/blog/build-a-wordpress-website/
Published Date: Tue, 12 Jul 2022 13:00:00 +0000