Unlock the power of WordPress: A beginner’s guide to creating a stunning website
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Get ready to start your new website. From choosing the right theme and adding your personal touch to it, to optimizing your site for search engines and enhancing user experience.
Why we choose WordPress for our website and why you should too
Well the first reason is that it’s free and open source. No lock and you own your content. With it being open source it encourages collaboration and innovation. WordPress has a passionate group of volunteers working on it. With it powering so much of the web there is a plugin, theme or addon for almost anything one can think to need. Along with the volunteer developers there is also a large community of users and support groups. WordPress come ready for the search engines. Lots of SEO plugins are available.
Understanding the WordPress dashboard
The WordPress dashboard is central control place for managing your whole website. Here you can add your theme, manage your plugins and check for updates. On the left is the main sidebar with quick links to the different areas in your dashboard.
Clicking in the left sidebar you can view your posts(blog) or pages (static pages) or you can view the media library where all your images are located. You can also go to the users section and invite team members to come and assist with your website.
Themes and plugins get updated in the dashboard and WordPress will show you a notice when there is a new update available.
Choosing a WordPress theme
Pick a theme that is right for your target audience. There are a lot pre made themes for almost every possible niche you can think of or you can get a general one. What type of website you are building? Is it a blog? an e-commerce store? Make sure to test the responsiveness. Load the themes demo on your phone and test a few different pages first before you try it.
Choose a theme that’s come with lots of customization options, this way you can get it looking the way you want. Test the performance and speed. Make sure the theme loads fast out of the box in Google lighthouse testing. Read user reviews and testimonials and make sure they offer support. You may get stuck and need some help later.
Customizing your website with plugins
WordPress themes provide the foundation for your website’s visual appeal, while plugins enhance its capabilities and functionality. These plugins act as extensions or small applications that can be added to your website to perform specific tasks or add features. Whether you need social media sharing buttons, contact forms, or SEO optimization, there’s likely a plugin available to meet your needs.
Get some tips on installing your plugin from here.
Choose plugins with a proven track record and positive reviews. Ensure that you only install plugins from trusted developers to help maintain the security and integrity of your website. Many plugins offer options to integrate with your website’s design and layout. WordPress plugins cater to a wide range of budgets, from free options suitable for beginners to premium plugins with advanced features and support for large-scale websites.
Creating and managing website content
Write content that genuinely helps your visitors by providing valuable insights, addressing their pain points, and offering solutions. Employ a clear and concise language, avoiding jargon and overly promotional language. Break down lengthy paragraphs into smaller sections using headings, subheadings, and bullet points to enhance readability.
Incorporate high-quality images that complement your content. Avoid relying on smartphone snapshots. If you’re selling a product, invest in professional product photography to showcase its features and attract potential customers. Ensure proper lighting, sharp focus, and high resolution for your images. Utilize image compression tools like tinypng.com to reduce file sizes without compromising image quality, making your pages load faster.
If you want to create static pages such as an About or Contact page, navigate to the “Pages” section in your dashboard and follow the same process.
Optimizing your WordPress website for SEO
Once your site is ready it a good idea to optimise it for search. Your website’s hosting provider plays a significant role in its overall performance and SEO. Ensure you choose a reliable and reputable hosting company that offers a fast and secure server. A slow-loading website can negatively impact user experience and search engine rankings.
Optimize the content of your website pages with relevant keywords, ensuring they are naturally integrated throughout the text. Submit your website’s XML sitemap to Google Search Console to notify search engines about your website’s pages and content. This helps ensure your website is crawled and indexed correctly. To prevent spammy or irrelevant comments from affecting your website’s ranking, manually approve comments before they appear publicly.
Enhancing website functionality with widgets
Widgets are small apps that add extra functionality to your WordPress website, such as sidebars, footers, and headers. Try not to add too many widgets to your website as they may slow down your page load. Add them where they will be most visible and useful to your users. A good use case may be adding a social media sharing widget in your sidebar or at the bottom of your blog posts. Test and play with your widget in different placements, colours, and designs to see what works best for your website and your users.
Keep them up to date and this may involve regularly checking for updates, staying informed about the latest developments, and implementing any recommended updates or changes to your widgets. If you encounter issues with outdated or malfunctioning widgets, referring to the official documentation or support resources for the relevant platform or tool is recommended.
Securing your WordPress website
Just like your home, your WordPress website needs a strong security system to keep it safe and protect the valuable information it holds. Cyber threats mean it’s more important than ever to protect your website from pesky hackers.
First and foremost, choose a robust password for your WordPress admin account. Steer clear of common or easily guessable combinations and opt for a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.
Next, keep your WordPress core, themes, and plugins updated regularly. Sign up for your developers’ newsletters so you know when there is a security update. Unpatched software can create loopholes that hackers can exploit to gain access to your website.
To add another layer of security, consider installing a reputable security plugin like Wordfence or Sucuri. These plugins provide a range of protective features, including malware scanning, firewall protection, and enhanced login security. They actively scan for malware, those pesky intruders that lurk in the digital shadows, seeking to infiltrate your website and wreak havoc. They can scan and identify these threats before they can cause any damage.
Try to use a plugin like BackupBuddy to keep regular backups. This will be your lifesaver in case of any security breaches or data loss. If you have a backup means you can quickly restore your website, safeguarding your important content.
WordPress maintenance and updates
Uninstall unused themes and plugins as they can slow down your website and increase the risk of security vulnerabilities. Regularly review your installed themes and plugins and remove any that you no longer use. Optimise all your large images and regularly update you content as this can significantly impact your website’s loading speed, which can negatively affect user experience and SEO rankings. Remove broken links that can frustrate users and hurt your SEO. Use a plugin like Broken Link Checker or Check My Links to identify and fix any broken links on your website. Test your contact forms and other important forms to make sure they are functioning correctly.
WordPress itself
Official Website
wordpress.org – This is the official website for WordPress, where you can download the software, find documentation, and learn more about using it.
WordPress Codex
codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page – This is a comprehensive documentation resource for WordPress, covering everything from installation and configuration to specific functionality and troubleshooting.
WordPress Theme Directory
wordpress.org/themes – The official WordPress theme directory is a great place to find free and premium WordPress themes. You can browse themes by category, feature, and popularity.
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