How to use WordPress: The beginners guide

People nowadays love to shop online because it’s convenient compared to going to a brick-and-mortar store. Hence, you should also establish an online store  to keep up with the competition. This is a great way for you to expand your presence beyond your geographical location.

A tool like WordPress helps you realize your goal of establishing a professional and functional website for your business. This popular content management system allows you to download plugins and themes and allows easy website management also.

Understanding WordPress

WordPress is a content management system that is commonly used to build websites and blogs. Because it’s open source—which means anyone can use, change, add to, and improve upon the code—it provides a lot of flexibility around design and functionality for a low cost.

Benefits of using WordPress for website creation

WordPress Is User-Friendly

Getting started with WordPress is easy and anyone wishing to create a website can do so. The skills required to build a website are within reach for many small business owners. Its intuitive dashboard allows users to update content, add pages, and customize their site effortlessly.

The WordPress Community Is There to Help

WordPress has a vast and active community of developers, designers, and users who contribute to its ongoing improvement. This support network provides access to forums, tutorials, and resources, making it easier to troubleshoot issues, seek advice, and stay updated with the latest trends.

It Has Extensive Customization Options

With thousands of themes and plugins available, WordPress offers exceptional customization capabilities. You can choose from a wide range of pre-designed themes or create a unique design tailored to your brand. Plugins further enhance functionality, enabling you to add features such as contact forms, eCommerce, SEO (Search Engine Optimization), and more.

It’s a Mobile-Friendly Tool

WordPress allows you to create a professional website that’s compatible with most mobile devices. Mobile accounts for nearly half of all web traffic worldwide, so there’s a good chance your customers are accessing your website on a mobile device.

Having a mobile-ready website is critical for businesses that want to be found online. As more people use mobile devices to search for products and services, Google has started prioritizing websites that can be displayed on mobile phones.

What’s the Difference between WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org?

WordPress.com and self-hosted WordPress.org are two distinct platforms with differences in terms of hosting, customization, and control. Here’s a breakdown of the key differences between the two:

WordPress.com is a simpler, hosted platform with limited customization options and restricted plugin use. Self-hosted WordPress.org provides more control, customization freedom, and opportunities for monetization, but requires more technical knowledge and responsibility for maintenance and security.

The choice between the two depends on your specific needs, goals, and level of control you desire over your website.

When it comes to hosting, you must choose Web.com’s WordPress hosting solutions because of its 20 years of experience in helping customers fulfill their online business needs. You’ll get reliable support, security, reliability, and your money’s worth when you subscribe to one of the affordable WordPress hosting plans.

Essential Preparations

Here are the essential preparations you need to get your WordPress account ready:

Selecting a Domain Name

• Keep it short, memorable, and easy to spell.
• Include relevant keywords or your brand name to improve search engine visibility.
• Avoid numbers, hyphens, or special characters that can confuse users.

Choosing a domain name feel like a tough task? Our AI domain name generator is exactly what you need!

Choosing a Reliable Web Hosting Provider

• Uptime reliability: Ensure the hosting provider offers high uptime to minimize website downtime.
• Speed and performance: Look for hosting services with fast server response times.
• Customer support: Go for providers with responsive and knowledgeable support teams.
• Scalability options: Choose a hosting provider that offers different plans to accommodate your website’s growth.
• Experience: Find a provider that has a successful proven track record of helping customers with their online businesses.

Installing WordPress

Once you’ve picked and paid for your WordPress hosting package with your domain name, it will be automatically installed on your account. You can start selecting themes and plugins to enhance the look and functionality of yourwebsite.

Navigating Web.com’s WordPress Dashboard

The WordPress Dashboard is the control center of your website, where you can manage and customize its various aspects. Key features of the WordPress Dashboard include:

• Dashboard Home: Provides an overview of your website’s activity, including recent posts, comments, and statistics.
• Posts and Pages: Create and manage your website’s content, whether it’s blog posts or static pages.
• Media Library: Upload and manage images, videos, and other media files to be used on your website.
• Appearance: Customize your website’s theme, menus, widgets, and other visual elements.
• Plugins: Install and manage plugins to extend the functionality of your website.
• Settings: Configure important settings related to your website’s general, writing, reading, and other aspects.

If you want to customize your dashboard menu, you can head to Admin Menu. You can find this by clicking Settings > Menu Editor.

Under the Admin Menu tab, you will see an exact copy of the left-side buttons. They’re all inside rectangular boxes, which you can drag if you want to change their positions. You’ll also have a toolbar where you can decide whether to cut, copy, paste, hide, add new, or delete items.

Beside it, you’ll also see the sub-menus with the same toolbar. You can then select save changes, undo changes, or load default menu.

Selecting a Theme for WordPress Websites

Choosing the right theme for your WordPress website is crucial as it sets the overall look and feel of your site. It plays a significant role in creating a positive user experience and reflecting your brand identity.

A well-designed theme enhances the visual appeal, functionality, and professionalism of your website, ultimately attracting and engaging your audience.

Exploring free vs. premium themes

When selecting a theme, you have the option of choosing between free and premium themes. Free themes are a cost-effective choice and can still provide a solid foundation for your website. Premium themes, on the other hand, offer advanced features, customization options, and premium support options. Consider your budget, desired features, and level of customization needed when deciding between free and premium themes.

Tips for selecting a theme that suits your brand and objectives

To choose a theme that aligns with your brand and objectives, consider the following tips:

• Ensure it’s responsive and mobile-friendly.
• Look for a theme that matches your brand and niche.
• Consider the customization options available.
• Check for regular updates and good customer reviews.

Installing and activating a WordPress theme

To install and activate a WordPress theme, navigate to the Appearance > Themes section in your WordPress Dashboard. Click on Add New to search for themes from the WordPress theme directory or upload a theme in .zip format. Once you find the desired theme, click on Install and then Activate to make it live on your website.

How to Customize Your Website Using Web.com’s WordPress Builder

Here are tips on how to customize your website:

Using the WordPress Customizer

The WordPress Customizer is a powerful tool that allows you to customize various aspects of your website’s appearance. Here are some key customization options:

• Changing the site title and tagline: Personalize your website by updating the site title and tagline to reflect your brand and communicate its purpose.
• Uploading a logo: Add a professional touch to your website by uploading your logo, which helps in building brand recognition.
• Adjusting colors and fonts: Customize the color scheme and typography of your website to match your brand’s visual identity and enhance its overall design. Make use of white space and use complementary colors to ensure that the visuals are not distracting and overwhelming.

Adding essential pages

To create a well-rounded website, it’s important to include essential pages that provide important information to your visitors. Consider adding the following pages:

• Home Page: Make a great first impression with a visually appealing and informative home page that highlights your key offerings.
• About Us: Introduce your business, share its story, and build trust with your audience by providing information about your company’s values, mission, and team.
• Contact Us: Make it easy for visitors to get in touch with you by including a contact page that displays your contact information or a contact form.
• Services/Products: Showcase your offerings and provide detailed information about the services or products you provide.

Creating a navigation menu

A navigation menu helps visitors navigate your website easily. To create a navigation menu, access the WordPress Customizer or navigate to Appearance > Menus in your WordPress Dashboard. Create a new menu and add the desired pages or custom links. Assign the menu to a specific location on your website, such as the header or footer, to make it easily accessible.

Installing and Managing Plugins in Web.com’s WordPress Hosting Solution

Here are important things that you need to know about installing and managing WordPress plugins:

Understanding plugins and their significance

Plugins are powerful tools that extend the functionality of your WordPress website. They allow you to add new features, enhance performance, and customize your site to meet your specific business needs. Plugins play a significant role in optimizing your website’s performance, improving security, and enhancing user experience.

To enhance your website’s functionality, consider installing the following essential plugins:

• SEO optimization: Install an SEO plugin like Yoast to improve your website’s visibility in search engines and optimize your content for better rankings.
• Security and backup: Protect your website from threats by using a security plugin or service that offers features like malware scanning, firewall protection, and regular backups.
• Contact forms: Make it easy for visitors to reach out to you by using a contact form plugin that allows you to create and manage forms on your website.
• Social media integration: Integrate your website with social media platforms using a social media plugin that enables sharing buttons and displays social media feeds.

Step-by-step guide to installing and managing plugins

1. Access your WordPress Dashboard and navigate to Plugins > Add New.
2. Search for the desired plugin by name or functionality.
3. Click Install Now next to the plugin you want to install.
4. Once installed, click Activate to activate the plugin on your website.
5. Configure the plugin’s settings according to your preferences.
6. Regularly update and manage your plugins by visiting the Plugins section in your WordPress Dashboard.

Crafting Compelling Content to Boost Online Presence

High-quality and engaging content is crucial because it doesn’t only attract visitors to your website but also keeps them interested and encourages them to take action. By providing valuable information, addressing their needs, and offering solutions, you establish credibility and build trust.

When writing website copy, it’s important to focus on creating a connection with your readers. Address their pain points and use a tone that would resonate with them. Moreover, don’t forget to highlight the benefits of your products in a way that makes them think your offerings are the best option among your competitors’ products. Keep your content concise, clear, and easy to understand.

Add regular blog posts so that visitors continuously come back for more. Share valuable insights, industry tips, and relevant information, so you can attract organic search traffic and engage visitors. You’ll position yourself as an authority in your industry in the long run.

Enhancing Website Functionality

Here’s how you can enhance your website functionality:

Adding multimedia content (images, videos, audio)

Incorporating multimedia content is a great way to enhance your website’s appeal and engage visitors. By adding high-quality images, informative videos, or relevant audio files, you can make your content more visually appealing and interactive. This not only captures the attention of your audience but also helps to convey your message more effectively.

Implementing eCommerce functionality (if applicable)

If you run an online store or offer products/services for sale, implementing eCommerce functionality is essential. This allows you to showcase your products, set up a secure payment gateway, manage inventory, and facilitate online transactions. With the right eCommerce plugin and configuration, you can provide a seamless shopping experience for your customers.

Optimizing for mobile devices

With the increasing use of smartphones and tablets, optimizing your website for mobile devices is crucial. Responsive design ensures that your website adapts to different screen sizes, providing a consistent and user-friendly experience across devices. Mobile optimization improves accessibility, boosts user engagement, and positively impacts your website’s search engine rankings. That way, users wouldn’t have to pinch and squeeze your website’s content if they open your website.

Integrating social media sharing buttons

Integrating social media sharing buttons allows visitors to easily share your content on their preferred social media platforms. This increases the visibility of your website and drives more traffic from social networks. By enabling social sharing, you encourage users to promote your content and expand your reach.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Search Engine Optimization is essential for improving your website’s visibility in search engine results. For WordPress websites, understanding the basics of SEO is crucial. This involves optimizing your website’s structure, content, and technical aspects to increase organic traffic and rank higher in search engine rankings.

Optimizing content and pages for better search engine rankings

To improve your website’s SEO, focus on optimizing your content and pages. This includes conducting keyword research, incorporating relevant keywords into your content, optimizing meta tags, headers, and URLs, and ensuring your content is valuable, informative, and engaging. Additionally, optimizing page load speed, using descriptive image alt tags, and organizing your content with proper headings and subheadings also contribute to better search engine rankings.

Utilizing SEO plugins to streamline optimization efforts

WordPress offers a variety of SEO plugins that can streamline your optimization efforts. These plugins provide features such as XML sitemaps, meta tag customization, content analysis, and social media integration. Popular SEO plugins like Yoast SEO and All in One SEO Pack can guide you in optimizing your content, improving readability, and enhancing overall SEO performance.

Website Security for WordPress Websites

Website security is crucial to protect your WordPress website from potential threats and ensure the safety of your data and user information. It safeguards your website from hackers, malware, and other malicious activities that can compromise its integrity and reputation. By emphasizing website security, you build trust with your visitors and create a safe online environment.

Implementing security measures to protect your website

To enhance your website’s security, implement various measures such as using strong and unique passwords, keeping WordPress and plugins updated, installing a reputable security plugin, enabling a firewall, and limiting login attempts.

Regularly scanning for malware, securing your login page, and using secure hosting providers are additional steps you can take to boost your website’s security.

Regularly backing up your website

Regularly backing up your website is essential for mitigating the impact of potential security breaches or website failures. It ensures that you have a recent copy of your website’s data, allowing you to quickly restore it in case of any issues. Schedule automatic backups or use reliable backup plugins to create backups of your website files and databases on a regular basis.

Launching Your WordPress Website

• Before launching your WordPress website, it’s crucial to thoroughly test its functionality and design to ensure a smooth user experience. Conduct the following checks:
• Test all website features, such as navigation menus, forms, and interactive elements, to ensure they work as intended.
• Review the responsiveness of your website across different devices and screen sizes.
• Check for any broken links or missing images.
• Verify that your website loads quickly and optimize its performance if necessary.

For your convenience, WordPress allows you to create a staging site so you can see your website before publishing it. That way, you can prevent errors from being published on your site.

• Once your WordPress website is ready, it’s time to announce its launch to your audience. Consider the following strategies:
• Send an email newsletter to your subscribers, informing them about your new website and inviting them to explore it.
• Share the news on your social media channels, using engaging posts and visuals to generate excitement.
• Write a blog post introducing your website and its key features and promote it on your social media platforms.
• Collaborate with influencers to amplify the reach of your announcement.

Monitoring and Maintaining Your WordPress Website

Monitoring the performance of your WordPress website is crucial for understanding its effectiveness and making informed decisions. Utilize website analytics tools like Google Analytics to track key metrics such as website traffic, user engagement, conversion rates, and popular content.

Analyzing this data enables you to identify areas of improvement, track the success of your marketing efforts, and optimize your website for better performance.

In addition, regular updates and maintenance are essential to ensure the smooth functioning and security of your WordPress website. Keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins up to date to benefit from new features, bug fixes, and security patches.

Regularly clean up your database, optimize your website’s speed and performance, and remove any outdated or unused plugins or themes. Don’t forget to perform routine backups and security checks to maintain a healthy and secure website.

Troubleshooting Common WordPress Issues

As a WordPress website owner, you may encounter common issues like website crashes, broken links, slow page load times, or compatibility problems with plugins or themes. Start by identifying the specific problem by checking your error logs, disabling problematic plugins, or updating your WordPress version. If these don’t work, you may take advantage of online forums, documentation, and WordPress support resources for additional troubleshooting tips.

If you’re facing complex or persistent issues, seek support from the WordPress community or professional developers. Forums, WordPress support websites, and social media groups can provide valuable insights and solutions.

Start Building Your WordPress Website with Web.com Today

WordPress is a great way to get your business online conveniently. There are several things to learn and consider first before you get the hang of it. Like any other machine, it requires continuous care for your website to function normally. Hence, that’s why we’ve compiled helpful topics in this article as your guide.

To kick-start your website-making journey, get Web.com’s WordPress hosting solutions. It allows easier website building and faster hosting with skilled support to help you along the way. We have scalable plans to choose from to accommodate your business growth.

What are you waiting for?

Don’t settle for less, choose the best WordPress hosting for your website now!

Protect Against Security Risks

Outdated or unsupported themes and plugins could pose a security risk and enable hackers to access your website for malicious purposes.

Web.com’s managed WordPress hosting solution removes the risk and makes it easy for our customers to manage their businesses. With a managed WordPress hosting account, you don’t have to worry about outdated or unsupported plugins. We make sure everything is up to date from a security perspective, giving you peace of mind.

Search Engine Optimization and Mobile Responsiveness with WordPress 

One of the key aspects of having an effective website is making sure you’ve taken whatever steps you can to ensure your website is easily found online.

Not only is WordPress optimized for search engines right out of the box, but it’s also built in such a way that makes it a breeze for you to keep your website updated. WordPress allows you to easily add and regularly update content with keywords your customers use to find your products and services.

“By keeping your site up to date, you’re signaling to Google that your site is active. That helps you get ranked higher in search,” says Kenneth.

Mobile responsiveness should also be a top priority for any website. Most people use Google to find websites. When Google sends you to a site, they’re trying to send you to the best match for your search. Google has built-in algorithms that dictate which websites they direct your customers toward. They don’t want to send you to a website that doesn’t work on your mobile device.

There are many other factors that will help boost your search engine rankings. For example, having an SSL certificate installed properly is critical. Your domain name should come up in the browser address bar with the “HTTPS:” in front of it. The “S” in “HTTPS” stands for “Secure.” If your site isn’t secure, Google will typically warn people when they visit your site, and it can hurt your search engine rankings.

It’s also important to ensure all the links on your website are working because broken links negatively affect your ranking. You can add a plugin that checks for broken links and redirects them accordingly. You’ll also want to claim your Google My Business (GMB) page, which you can integrate into your site using a plugin.

Why Choose a Web.com WordPress Hosting Plan

At Web.com, our WordPress hosting packages are designed specifically for WordPress with performance in mind. WordPress is fairly basic out of the box. Once you start adding in some plugins and features, however, it can start to cause slowdowns on your site.

According to Kenneth, “Web.com’s platform minimizes slowdowns so that your website performs at the highest level possible.”

Plus, we’ve included some additional features that our customers find useful, such as site staging. This means you have the ability to build a website that isn’t published online yet, giving you the option to play around and explore different designs and features before you’re ready to publish.

Select a WordPress Hosting Package to Meet Your Needs

Web.com offers three variations of WordPress Hosting for those that want to build their own website. WordPress sites built using our packages offer faster load times, and you can get support from our experts when you need it. Plus, you’ll have access to a variety of approximately 30 free pre-installed themes and over 50,000 plugins available from the WordPress plugin library.

The package a business chooses will depend on their specific needs, but you’ll find that all of Web.com’s WordPress hosting packages include free domain name registration and plenty of storage for your website.

New businesses can get online with a package that provides 10 email boxes and 50 GB of storage for their files for as little as $7.99 a month.

Growing businesses may opt for Web.com’s mid-level WordPress hosting package. That package provides 25 email boxes, can host up to three websites and will store up to 100 GB. This package also includes an SSL to make sure your website is secure and to help improve your organic search engine rankings. This package is only $13.98 a month.

Thriving businesses may opt for the high-end WordPress hosting package. This package can host up to five different websites, comes with 200 GB of storage, an SSL certificate and 50 email boxes for only $18.98 a month.

Web.com WordPress hosting packages can be upgraded at any time and are designed so that you can get the storage and services you need with no interruptions, even as your business grows.

Kenneth shared how easy it is to get up and running with a WordPress hosting package from Web.com. “As we’re focused on the SMB customer, we pre-install themes and plugins that are best suited to your needs. We save you the time and effort of figuring out how to get started, and then we make sure they’re updated on an ongoing basis so your site is stable and secure.”

General Tips and Tricks for WordPress

Our best advice for getting started with WordPress is to take your time, dive into the builder’s features and familiarize yourself with its capabilities.

Don’t Be Afraid to Experiment

There are themes and plugins that give you some drag and drop capabilities to make it easier to build your website. Before you start installing a variety of plugins, familiarize yourself with the WordPress control panel.

Practice creating a few pages and setting up the website navigation. Then, select and install only the plugins you’ll need to achieve your required functionality. Keep in mind that too many plugins will bog down your website. If you have one of Web.com’s WordPress hosting packages, the best plugins will have been preselected for you.

Help Is Available When You Need It

One of the most helpful things about working with WordPress is its global community of users. You can find an endless supply of help documents and forums full of other people working with this tool who enjoy tackling challenges and are willing to assist you.

By choosing a WordPress hosting company with excellent customer support, such as Web.com, you get the advantage of having a helpful team of experts available to support you.

At Web.com, we even offer WordPress design services, so if you get stuck or decide you don’t want to take the time to do it yourself, we can build your website for you.

Keep Your Site Secure

Never underestimate the importance of keeping your WordPress site secure. This is the biggest problem SMBs face if they’re not careful.

As Kenneth explains, “You need to make sure everything’s up to date from a security perspective. Hackers can take down your site and negatively impact your business at any time — and it happens more often than you may realize.”

WordPress regularly releases updates to fix security vulnerabilities. With an average of more than one patch a month, it can be time-consuming to keep your website secure. Web.com’s managed WordPress is a product that does the work for you, ensuring you’re using the latest version, and your themes and plugins are updated.

Using WordPress for Your Business 

Overall, building a website for your SMB is now easier than ever with the help of WordPress. You don’t need to be a tech wiz; if you can use internet applications or a smartphone, you can build a WordPress website. It just takes confidence, patience and a small cost to get started.

Yes, there’s a learning curve, but it’s not as steep as you might think. By tapping into the worldwide WordPress community and choosing a hosting company like Web.com that’s committed to supporting SMBs, you’ll have your WordPress website built and online in no time.

IMAGE CREDITS

Featured Image: Unsplash/Fikret Tozak 

All screenshots taken by the author, November 2019
Image One: Via WordPress