How to Make a WordPress Website in 2020 – Complete Step by Step Guide!

It doesn’t matter whether you are a blogger or a small business owner, you should know how to create a simple WordPress site if you want to create a website in the most popular platform in the world.

WordPress is at the top of its game. It powers more than 35% of the websites in the world. This means that every one in three websites that you visit is built using WordPress.

And you certainly do not need to go anywhere to learn this skill. You can create a WordPress site by following these steps:

Step 1: Opt for WordPress as your website platform

The market is filled with numerous Content Management Systems (CMS). However, it is important to choose the right one. And, there is no choice better than WordPress!

The idea behind CMS is to provide you with some easy-to-use tools so that you can edit your site without any technical knowledge of coding. CMS is apparently similar to interfaces at Facebook or Google docs.

This step only requires you to settle for the right CMS (WordPress), nothing more than that. 

Head on to WordPress.org! Get your head around its features.

Step 2: Select a name for your website, buy a domain and hosting

Choosing a name for your website is where the real fun begins. You can name your site whatever you want to.

However, there are certain golden rules of choosing a name for your site that should be followed. An ideal domain name is brandable, easy to memorize, short, easy to type, and include niche related keywords.

There are numerous companies that can register a new domain name for you and can sell you a hosting package. We recommend choosing local Sydney based companies like VentraIP, WP Engine, Crucial Paradigm, CrazyDomains etc.

First, visit the website and choose a hosting plan for your site. Then register a domain name. After that, install a clean version of WordPress. Now, you have a fully operational WordPress site.

If you need any sort of assistance in this regard, feel free to reach out to us. We at Nirmal are ready to assist you in every way possible. 

Step 3: Make yourself familiar with the WordPress UI

You should log on to your WordPress user panel and enter your username as well as password. Once you have logged in, you will come across a welcome message, the current status of your site, your posts, media files, pages, comments, and most importantly, SETTINGS.

First of all, you should set your permalink using an optimised structure. For that, you need to go to Settings → Permalinks on the sidebar menu of your WordPress dashboard. An optimised and well-structured permalink has the name of the page in it.  

Then, you should make your site public. In order to do so, you need to go to Settings → Reading and ensure that the box that says “Discourage search engines…” is not checked. If it is checked, your website won’t show up in search engine results. 

After that, you should set the title and tagline of your site. For that, you will have to go to Settings → General and enter your desired title and tagline in the relevant field.  

Lastly, you should set your time zone right by going to Settings → General. You can choose either your own time zone or that of your target audience, whatever you think is more beneficial for your website.

Now, you are ready to head on to the next step!

Step 4: Choose a theme for your website

One thing that people particularly like about WordPress is that it is highly dynamic. You can experience different shades of WordPress by changing its theme. Interestingly enough, you can do so with just one simple click!

You should start off by choosing a WordPress theme. There are free as well as premium themes available in the market. While, website costs may go up considerably, nothing beats a customized theme that has been designed in accordance with the needs of your business. Once you have chosen a theme, now it is time for you to install it. After installing it, customize it according to your requirements. This includes setting up your homepage and adjusting its layout and features.

But if you are someone who is time-poor and would prefer to work with an expert to align it with your vision and requirements, get in touch with us to learn how we can help you get a WordPress website that fits your business.

Step 5: Install plugins to augment your site’s functionality

Plugins are an easy way out to enhance the functionality of your site. You do not necessarily need to have comprehensive knowledge of coding in order to install plugins.

A few popular plugins are Yoast SEO, Google Analytics for WordPress, Wordfence Security etc.

If you want to install free plugins, the process is quite simple. However, we recommend our clients to discuss with an expert before you install too many plugins as that will create more problems down the line than good i.e. website speed issues, security, difficult to maintain.

At our studio, we prefer to keep websites simple and minimal with fewer plugins.

Why You Should Always Upgrade Your WordPress Website

Step 6: Create some basic pages

There are some basic pages without which a website remains incomplete.

To create a page, go to your WordPress dashboard. Then go to pages and add a new page. You will find a space to enter your headline. The body of the website has an interface similar to MS Word. All basic text formatting features are available. You can even add images, switch between text and visual editors, add a section for discussion and featured images. You should add essential pages such as about, contact, privacy policy, portfolio and store.

Step 7: Think about starting a blog

Almost every successful business has a regularly updated blog. It is one of the most essential components of content marketing. A well-maintained and regularly updated blog will not only help you in promoting your site but will also simultaneously assist you in promoting and selling your products.

Unlike popular perception, running a blog is quite easy. You just need to regularly post valuable articles related to the niche of your website. WordPress will facilitate you in content marketing because it has in-built blogging tools as it started off as a blogging platform.

However, the tough part is writing engaging blog posts regularly. It requires thorough research and in-depth understanding of the target market. Once you get a strong grip on these aspects, writing valuable content becomes easier.

Step 8: Adjust your site navigation

Now that you are done with everything, you should work on improving the navigation of your site. Improved navigation means better user experience.

Your first focus should be on the menus. They play a pivotal role in improving the navigation of your site. Hence, they are a crucial element of any and every website.

The setting of the menu depends on the theme that you select. Regardless of that, you can change the settings by going to Appearance and then to menus on the WordPress dashboard. To the left, you can see pages that you can add to the menu. To the right, you will find the menu structure itself. You can add the key pages to the menu by simply dragging and dropping. Later, you can change the order.

Next comes the widgets. These widgets are mostly placed in the sidebar or the footer of the website. To see a preview of your widgets, go to appearance then widgets in your WordPress dashboard. If you want to add any widget to an area, you just need to drag and drop it.

However, a custom-built WordPress website allows businesses like yours to function without restrictions. Contact us now and let our team of experts build you a website that reflects your business.

Conclusion

Kudos, you just learned how to design a WordPress site!

However, these 8 apparently simple steps can be extremely overwhelming for the beginners. It takes time to get a complete grip over these steps. And of course, well-established businesses do not have that much time to invest in experimenting with WordPress.

The best bet for such businesses is to outsource the task of website development to agencies that specialise in this domain.

Feel free to reach out to us for assistance. Our team of astute web developers will provide you with the best possible solution.

Designing impressionable websites is our speciality and giving quality service to our customers is our motto!