There are many website-building tools available on the Internet today. You can create your new website using website builders, open-source software, and other web design tools.
However, no matter how popular some of these solutions are, WordPress is
the only one that powers more websites worldwide, with a market share of
over 40%.
Let's see how to create a website using WordPress, the world's most
popular website-building and content-management system.
Why Choose WordPress
There are many web hosting solutions that you can choose from when
building a new site - content management systems (CMS) are the most common
ones.
The idea of a CMS is to provide you with easy-to-use tools so that you
can edit your website content without any coding knowledge. For the most
part, from a user's point of view, these CMSs are like regular Facebook or
Google Docs links. You create new pages or documents and then publish them
on the web.
Enough technical information! As I said, there are many CMS, but choosing
the best one is not difficult. There is only one king on the hill, and
that is WordPress.
About three of the websites you visit are built on WordPress. WordPress is
the right choice because it's free, open-source, versatile, fast,
efficient, secure, and SEO- ready. WooCommerce is a WordPress plugin you
can install to create your online store. WordPress also supports numerous
WooCommerce plugins like [WooCommerce stock manager](https://codecanyon.net/item/woocommerce-product-stock-manager/21703841) to enhance the store's
functionality further.
Below are some steps to create a website by using WordPress in 2023.
Step 1. Get Web Hosting and a Domain Name
The first step in creating a WordPress website is to get a website.
Although WordPress is a free builder, you must use a hosting web service
to have your website on the Internet.
It usually costs less than $10 per month, and getting a website first will
save you time and money, as the best WordPress services include free
domain names and one-click WordPress installation to make the WordPress
building process.
If you choose a web hosting plan with a domain name such as businessname.com,
such as DreamHost, you will be prompted to select a domain during account registration.
Consider choosing local services, for example, web hosting in Kansas City, to boost the performance of your site.
Otherwise, buy a domain name directly
from one of the best domain registrars, GoDaddy or Google Domains, and
then manually link your domain name to the website.
Step 2. Install WordPress
After choosing and registering a domain and hosting, the next step is to
install WordPress on a new hosting account.
[Installing WordPress](https://wpblazer.com/wordpress-install/install-wordpress-quickly-how-best-to-do-it-minimum-fuss/) is intuitive. It takes less than five minutes to
complete. Just log into your Hostinger control panel, search for WordPress
(usually at the bottom of your settings), and click install.
After you buy your website and install WordPress, you will see the
WordPress dashboard.
Step 3. Choose a WordPress Theme
The WordPress dashboard section allows you to customize your site by
adding different areas. You can always access other parts of your website
by clicking on the tabs on the left.
The first step in setting up a website is choosing a theme and customizing
it to suit your needs. A theme is a set of files defining your site's
look. Themes usually provide images, document styles, and code to control
everything from site layout to text and font size on different pages.
Step 4. Get Plugins to Extend Your Website's Abilities
The plugin extends the basic functionality of your website by adding some
much- needed features. But, when you think about how to build a website
yourself, plugins are the way you can get great features without knowing
how to code.
Here are some plugins you should consider getting - best of all, they're
free of cost:
Yoast SEO
This will help you set up search engine optimization and make your site
more user- friendly.
Google Analytics
This integrates your website with the most popular mobile search solutions
on the web.
WordFence Security
To improve the security of your WordPress site.
WPForms
Add contact forms to your website that allow visitors to contact you
directly - more than just displaying your email in plain text on your
site.
Also, check out this list of the [most popular WordPress plugins](https://www.nimblechapps.com/blog/top-7-plugins-to-use-for-your-wordpress-website-in-2024). There,
too, you can find something interesting.
Installing plugins is easy. If we are dealing with a free plugin, all you
need is the name.
Go to the WordPress Dashboard and then Plugins → Add New. From there,
enter the name of the plugin you want in the search box, then click
Install and Activate.
Step 5. Add Content to Your Website
WordPress comprises two types of content that can't be called posts and
pages. Posts are part of the blogging process and are displayed
chronologically (newest items first).
On the other hand, the pages are for special "one-off" items such as your
About Us page, contact page, custom system, custom upgrade page, etc.
By default, WordPress displays your ads on the home page of your site. You
can change this, and WordPress will display any fixed page as the home
page of your site.
You can build a separate page for your blog or news section to display
your new posts. Alternatively, you can create a website without a blog
section.
With that done, let's add content to your site. You start by adding a few
pages to your WordPress site. Don't worry if you need more content for
these pages. You can always edit and update.
Mastering WordPress
WordPress is intuitive, but it is an effective content management system. From time to time, you might be looking for some quick WordPress help. The good news is that plenty of WordPress support tools are out there.
So, you have an idea of creating a WordPress site. However, there is a lot you can do from now on, depending on the specific goals you can find on the site. Based on the nature of your website, you need marketing to reach the right audience. You may need analytics tools and a marketing plan to make it all work. Luckily, the WordPress ecosystem is full of great tools to help you with this.