If you want to create your own website but feel handicapped with little or no web design or development skills, this blog is for you. We’ve presented a simple guide to getting your website online with WordPress which requires no skills in coding. Why WordPress? It is simple, feature-rich and as of this year powers 30% of all websites in the world.
Here is a short guide to navigating the WordPress world:
1. Know the difference between wordpress.com and wordpress.org
WordPress.com offers you the ability to have a free WordPress blog, hosted by wordpress.com- thus saving you the trouble of managing your hosting. However, the downside is that the blog domain name will include wordpress.com and you will have no flexibility to add custom themes or plugins.
If you wish to host your blog/website independently and have endless customization options for your website, choose wordpress.org. Visit the wordpress.org website and download the wordpress software script.
2. WordPress Hosting
Purchase a WordPress hosting package from a renowned hosting company like ResellerClub. While any other web hosting package could also host your WordPress website, a WordPress hosting is a hosting environment that is specifically designed to cater to the needs of your WordPress website.
What should you look for in a WordPress hosting package?
- Pre-installed WordPress– Some web hosts offer pre-installed WordPress with their WordPress hosting This saves you the need to download the software script from wordpress.org and upload it to your server.
- Automatic updates-This will ensure that you always have the latest version of WordPress with the latest features and security patches.
- Support– Does the web host guarantee 24X7 support? Additionally, if you would like a little more hand-holding with your website, is Managed WordPress as a service offered?
- Uptime– What are the web host’s guarantees for hosting uptime? Do web hosting review sites and forums validate that?
- Security-WordPress is the most widely used Content Management System(CMS) in the world. This makes it the biggest target for cyber crimes. What safeguards is the web host you’re looking at offer to combat or protect your website?
- Years in the industry– another good measure of reliability is to learn how long each web host has been in the industry and how many customers they serve
- Variety of products and services-Does the web host also offer other services such as security and email solutions, collaboration tools, etc. This may be important to help you save cost as you will want to purchase several products for your website from the same provider
3. WordPress Design
Once your website is hosted, the next step is to incorporate design. WordPress makes this easy with thousands of website themes and templates to choose from. You can look for themes from within your WordPress admin panel or you can also check out other 3rd party websites for themes that you can then upload to your website. If you have some skills in coding, you can customize an existing WordPress theme to make it stand out on the web.
4. WordPress Functionality
Once you’ve finalized the layout of your website, you can install WordPress plugins/scripts to add all the functionality you require with just a click. Plugins are pieces of software that you can just plug-in or add to extend the functionality of your website. Like themes, you can also look for WordPress plugins from within the WordPress admin panel. Ensure you check the reviews and the version of each plugin before you install it for potential security flaws.
As you can see, setting up your website with WordPress is incredibly easy. How has your experience with WordPress been? Let us know in the comment section.