WordPress Tutorial for Beginners
I’m pretty confident that you know something about WordPress or you’ve at least heard about it. And since you’re also reading this article, you’re also interested to learn how to use it—at least in a beginner’s perspective.
The good news is you’ve come to the right place. As a WordPress developer on the Gold Coast, I’ll show you some simple steps and even a video on how to get you business started with WordPress, but before that, let me give you a brief run down of what WordPress is.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is associated with blogs and websites, but at its very core, it’s a content management system (CMS) that allows you to build content. And I’m not just talking about blogs but also ecommerce websites, landing pages, brochure style websites – the sky’s the limit.
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WordPress, however, is available in two formats. There’s WordPress.com and WordPress.org. While they sound alike, they’re actually vastly different. What you choose will totally affect how you interact with the tools, among others. You can go here to learn what these differences are.
The bottom line is that WordPress.com is the easiest for beginners simply because everything is already laid out for you. The system is already installed, including plug-ins, themes and structure. All you need to do is to choose what application you want to go with; it’s basically a website wizard. Follow the prompts and you have a DIY website.
With WordPress.org on the other hand, you’re basically starting from scratch. However, if you’re dead serious in building your own website, this is the only way to go since you have more freedom and control when it comes to the design and functionality of the website. You also have access to hundreds of plug-ins that can enhance your website. This may need some getting used to, especially since you have to find your own web host.
Fortunately, many web hosts can already allow you to install WordPress by just one click. Ignition Media are able to help Gold Coast businesses with both web hosting and WordPress installation and maintenance.
How to Begin
Before I list some basic steps, first make sure you’ve already bought your domain name. It’s also a good idea to register for a WordPress account with your unique username and password. Done?
Let’s proceed. Regardless whether you have .com or .org, you have access to pretty much the same features including themes, so let’s start from there.
- Choose your own theme. Themes don’t only make your page attractive; they also provide structure and organisation. To put it simply, they determine what your site will look like. These themes can be premium, which means you have to buy them, or free. If you have .org, you may be able to modify these themes or if you’re experienced with HTML and website design, you can create your own. Alternatively, check out our Gold Coast WordPress website service if you have the budget to have a custom theme created for your business.
- Install widgets and plug-ins. These give your website more functionality and both front- and back-end support. Some of the widgets that you can add include Facebook, Twitter, and Pinterest badges. You may also include a latest comment or post box or a tag cloud. For plug-ins, we recommend Yoast SEO and Akismet; these help block comment spam (this spares you from a great deal of a headache).
- Write your first content. By now you have already created the basic appearance of your WordPress website. Now you’re ready to create content. Usually, for beginners, it’s text.
To do that, go to the main menu. You should be able to see links to Dashboard, Posts, etc. To create a new post, go to Posts then choose ‘Add New’, or you may choose to create a page, simply go to Pages, and then choose ‘Add New’. This should bring you to a page that is a content editor. You can now begin writing beginning with the title and the rest of the body.
In the content editor, you can see buttons that allow you to create a list, add media files such as videos and images, or include a link. Don’t be afraid to play around with these tools to make your content engaging, this is what will help your site rank in Google.
If you’re creating a Post, you can also choose or create your category, but you can actually do this later. When you’re ready to view your content, click Preview. When you’re ready to publish, click Publish.
For detailed step by step video guide for not only creating a custom WordPress website, but also setting up the hosting, I recommend you watch this video. It may be long, but it’s comprehensive.
Conclusion
As expected, like learning anything new, you’re likely to experience learning curves when learning WordPress. But the beauty of WordPress is; not only is it’s very easy to learn, it’s also freely offers over a million free plugins and many widgets to help you create an awesome WordPress website or blog.
If you find you simply don’t have the time required to create a WordPress website but want one for your business, or you’ve created your WordPress website but want a custom WordPress theme, then Ignition Media is here for you. We specialises in WordPress websites on the Gold Coast!
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