Whether you’re building a personal blog, a business website, or an online store, there’s a theme to match your needs. One of the best aspects of using a hosted platform is that you don’t have to secure a hosting provider or use what is wordpress used for a domain registrar. Signing up for a WordPress.com plan provides you with both. They also take care of server maintenance and performance optimization so you can be sure your site will run fast and smoothly for your visitors.
The interface does take some getting used to, but we have extensive tutorials to help you along the way. Even though it’s considered managed hosting, more advanced users will appreciate being able to configure their server settings themselves. These can include menu items for logging in and out, ecommerce menu links, and more. For example, some WordPress themes, such as Divi, offer add-ons through the Divi Marketplace.
Hosting Optimized for WordPress
But another important thing I want to talk about, which is probably why you wanted to start a WordPress website in the first place—how to create content for your blog. Depending on the theme you installed, you may have more or fewer options than the screenshot above. Rather than trying to cover every option you may encounter, I’ll just recommend that you go through each option to see what it does. Every website built on WordPress.org needs a domain name () and a hosting service that stores and displays your website on the internet. To enable auto-updates, navigate to the WordPress dashboard’s plugins section.
To add blocks to the post editor, click the black + icon and either search for a block or scroll to see the options. Getting started with WordPress does take a few steps, but the process is easy. Between choosing the version of WordPress and adding plugins, we’ll walk you through all the steps needed to get your WordPress website up and running. Several types of hosting are available for WordPress, including shared, managed, cloud, and VPS.
Extensive documentation (WordPress Blogs, Tutorials, etc)
This means you can choose from thousands of professionally-designed templates for your website. There is a slight learning curve when you familiarize yourself with the software, but most beginners pass it quickly and easily manage their own websites. When it comes to updates, WordPress makes it easy for you to stay on top of the latest versions.
One of the most important last steps before launching your website is configuring its SEO settings. Using an SEO plugin such as Rank Math is an excellent option. It offers a step-by-step process that guides you in achieving better SEO scores using helpful tips and suggestions. This also saves you a lot of time not having to constantly keep logging on just to check if you need to update plugins or themes. Once your website starts growing and making money, then you can spend more on upgrading your hosting service or buying premium WordPress themes and plugins. There are dozens of website builders and potential WordPress alternatives on the market that you can use to make your website.
All Features
There’s also a robust WordPress repository full of free plugins and themes you can use. Using WP’s self-hosted option, you can display ads, sell products directly, or offer paid subscriptions through various plugins, such as MemberPress. WordPress is a powerful and versatile CMS that can create various websites. Although there is an initial learning curve to overcome, it’s easy for beginners to learn and master. With a vast community of third-party developers, tutorials, and plugins available, you can customize your WordPress website to make it your own.
Adding this is done with an SSL certificate, and it’s an important step. Personally, I always create a unique static page to use as my homepage because it gives me more control over the homepage. I like to add internal links to specific pages to help them rank higher on Google, as well as add an email opt-in form on the homepage.
Final Thoughts on WordPress for Beginners
In this post, we’ll explain what WordPress is, its features, the types of sites you can create with it, and its benefits. With your installation complete, it’s time to set up WordPress so it will work the way you want it to work. All of our courses are created for use with WordPress.com managed hosting. You can use your WordPress website to make money blogging, promote your services as a freelancer, or even sell products online. Knowing how to build a website is almost mandatory these days for anyone who wants to start a business.
To save your page, click the ellipsis menu at the bottom center of the page. Once you’ve drafted your post and added images and text, click the Publish button to push your post live. There are a couple of ways to access the WordPress dashboard.
It is a typical business website with a homepage showcasing key characteristics of the brand along with its flagship products. You can see some of the best WordPress plugins hand-picked by our expert team to help you grow your WordPress site. You can also use other WordPress hosting solutions like Hostinger or Dreamhost. Users from all over the world use WordPress to make money online. It is flexible enough to run eCommerce operations and simple enough to make small websites quickly.
Automatically send your new posts out as an email newsletter. Connect with other likeminded bloggers—who might just be your next biggest fans, through our community hub. Discover a collection of website examples from around the world, curated to spotlight gorgeous design, technical innovation, and the limitless power of WordPress. There are many reasons why WordPress is the most popular tool to build a website. Alternatively, you can create an LMS using Divi, using one of our layout packs, and the Restrict Content Pro plugin. WordPress core consists of the files and code needed for the WordPress installation.
Most managed hosting providers, such as SiteGround and WP Engine, offer backups in their hosting plans. However, depending on the host, you might need to install a good backup plugin. When using Divi or the Divi Builder Plugin, you can take advantage of over 200 design modules to design your web pages. It offers an easy way for WordPress newbies or those without web design experience to create beautiful layouts with ease. Once your page is created, you can use the Divi Builder to add content to your page.
- Remember, you can always revisit and adjust these settings as your website evolves.
- In addition to more broad-spectrum websites, WordPress can create the most elaborate learning management systems.
- To access the WP dashboard, log in to your SiteGround account.
- You can easily add the paragraph block for writing content and the image block for adding in impactful photos to support your content.