How to Create a Website Using WordPress 2020

Do you dream of creating and running your own website? Are you intimidated by the idea of learning programming languages such as CSS and HTML? If yes, then we have good news for you. You don’t have to know any of these languages to create your first website. In fact, most websites that are out there are created by people who have virtually no knowledge of the two languages. So, how do they do it? The answer is WordPress. 

What is WordPress?

WordPress is a Content Management System (CMS) that can be used to create and manage websites. But then some may be wondering what a CMS really is. A CMS is a software for creating websites. So, WordPress is a CMS.  And it’s open source. 

But it is not the only one. Other examples are Joomla and Drupal. Still, WordPress is the biggest of them all. In fact, of all the websites whose CMSs are known, WordPress is used by at least 63.6 percent, according to W3techs. 

Who Can Use WordPress?

We have previously written an article in which we talked about front end web development. If you got the feeling from that article that you need to be a programming Wizard to create websites, then you would have been mistaken. You don’t need to know CSS and HTML to start creating your first site! WordPress vastly simplifies matters in this regard. But where do you even start? 

What WordPress Sites Are Available? 

One thing that we need to mention here is that there are two versions of WordPress websites floating around out there:

WordPress.com Sites

First, you can head over to WordPress.com. There, you will be able to create a free website. Your website will have a domain name that’s goes something like myfirstwebsite.wordpress.com. 

Overall, these are not websites for people who are really serious about having their own sites. They work great for people who do a bit of blogging here and there. But they have severe limitations, not least of which is the domain name. 

Of course, you can always buy a plan which extends the functionality of your WordPress.com website. But you don’t entirely have enough freedom to play around with your site. 

WordPress.org Sites

These are what we are really talking about when we talk about having a WordPress website. We are sorry to say, but WordPress.com sites are simpleminded. The same cannot be said of WordPress.org sites. But where do you start? 

Getting Started with WordPress (.org) Sites

To get started creating your own WordPress site, there are a number of things that you are going to have to do. There are certain things that you need: 

You Need a Web Host

First, you are going to need to buy a web hosting plan. There are countless web hosting companies out there. Some of them are great, while others are merely good. You will also find a few rotten apples thrown into the mix. So, you are going to have to do some research to find out the best companies for you. The most popular Web Hosts include:

• Hostgator
• InterServer
• iPage
• Kinsta
  
  

Web Hosting is Not Free

Web hosting does not come free of charge. After all, these companies need to maintain servers on which websites are hosted. One thing that you will notice is that there is a gulf in what companies charge for web hosting services. It all depends on the nature of hosting that’s on offer. 

Some companies carter for everyone, including entry-level, two-bit websites. Then there are other companies like Kinsta that are more suited for medium-sized to large businesses that are really serious about where their websites repose. To those who are curious, web hosting plans can begin from as low as $1.99 per month to several hundred dollars per month. 

You Need to Decide on a Domain Name

Each website that’s out there has a domain name. As an example, our site is called https://computersciencehero.com/. That’s our domain name. It’s how people who wish to go through our site can find us. All that they need to do is to type that into their web addresses. 

So, you need to also decide what you are going to call your site. If you are a business, the choice will probably be easy. In most instances, you will want to include your business’ name in the domain. So, a domain can be tomsshopfittingbusiness.com. That’s assuming that you are Tom and you run a shop fitting business. 

What if My Domain is Taken?

A domain name is not something over which you should agonize. Most of the really interesting and catchy names out there are already taken. So, you may have a problem. If you really want them, you can buy them for well into the thousands. 

But we advise against that. The domain is important. But no so much that you should pay thousands of dollars for it. Instead, you can try to have variations in the name. As an example, you can throw in a number if your preferred domain is taken. 

An example would be 1tomsshopfittingbusiness.com. It doesn’t matter that much. You can call your domain donkeys.com and you will still do fine if you have relevant content. Of course, donkeys won’t do for serious businesses!

Where Do I Buy a Domain?

You can buy a domain separately, or along with a hosting plan. We advise on the latter. That makes it easy for you to manage everything in one place. And you usually get the domain for free the first year when you buy it alongside a web hosting plan. 

So, if you decide on InterServer as your host, they will offer you a discount on your domain name for the first year. Afterward, you will have to renew domain registration at the full amount. 

How Much Does a Domain Cost? 

Generally speaking, domain names cost about $12 per year. So, they are not that expensive. 

You Need to Install WordPress

Once you have bought your domain and a web hosting plan, you will now need to install WordPress. How you do it is going to vary depending on your plan and on your host. Some hosts will do it for you. But it’s not that difficult. In most instances, it’s a simple matter of getting into your cPanel and making the installation. 

Deciding on a Theme

WordPress websites have what are referred as “themes”. They are essentially templates that determine how your website is going to look. When just beginning, you probably don’t need to worry too much about the theme. What you want to do is to have your site up and running. 

Later you can decide which theme or page builder you are going to use to achieve the desired results. WordPress comes with a few default themes that you can use. The latest is Twenty Twenty. The good news is that there are probably thousands upon thousands of themes out there that you can choose from. And the majority of them can be accessed for free. 

Creating Content

Your WordPress website is still barebones at this stage. It needs content for it to start gaining relevance. One thing to note is that the success or failure of your site is probably going to depend on how it is ranked by search engines. 

And for you to get a good rating, you need to have relevant content. So, if you were creating a site for a shop fitting website, you can begin blogging about the subject. Your content can be about anything, from the best e-ink readers on the market today, to articles that answer to your business’ areas of expertise. 

Bonus Tip: It’s Your Computer Performing as It Should? 

To avoid frustration, your computer needs to be in fairly good shape as you set out to create your WordPress site. If you are creating a blog, you are going to have to carry out many operations along the way, some of which can be demanding on computers. 

Should your computer start to act up, you may wish to do a RAM test Windows 10. Many performance issues on computers can be traced back either to a lack of RAM or memory, or to damaged RAM modules. So, see if you have these issues. The good news is that memory is cheap and easy to replace on computers. 

Summary

We have given you the bare basics of creating WordPress websites in this article. The subject is rather broad but with the knowledge that you have gained so far, you should be good to go. We noted that WordPress is a CMS that makes it possible for anyone to create their site. 

There is no need to learn programming. To get started, you need to buy a domain. Then you need to buy a hosting plan. From there, you can start creating your site in your web hosting cPanel. Once your site is up and running, you need to start creating relevant, well-written content. That way, it will become visible to Google and other search engines.