Do you know that WordPress powers more than 43% of all websites on the internet?

That’s true.

With over 2 million downloads every year- Word Press is the most popular builder (still thriving).

And honestly speaking- we’re not surprised at all.

This CMS is easy to use, customizable, and most importantly free. Not just developers, even if you’re 10000 miles away from the online world, you can build a website with WordPress.

All you need is a little bit of guidance.

That’s why we came up with a guide on How to build a website in WordPress for beginner. Let’s Unlock the Power of Word Press together.

Why do big brands, tech giants & marketers rely on WordPress for their sites (& so do you)?

54 out of the top 100 companies of Inc.5000 are running their website on WordPress. 

That makes it the world’s no.1 CMS!!!

Though it’s free, it’s feature-rich blogging system makes it the go-to web application for big fishes. 

Worpress gives the user a wonderful digital experience which is hard to get in other CMS. Let’s see some of the big brands that use WordPress for their iconic site….

  • Microsoft News
  • Facebook Newsroom
  • Mercedes-Benz
  • Bloomberg Professional
  • Usain Bolt
  • Forbes Blogs
  • The New York Observer
  • And even The White House

That’s a list of just a fraction of the brand. More or less, 60% of big brands use WordPress.

First…..Can a beginner build a website on WordPress?

Absolutely! 

That’s the beauty of Word press.

Whether you’re building a personal blog, a portfolio, creating a job board, a forum, or an e-commerce site- you will be amazed to see how amazing thing WordPress can do.

The possibility is literally endless!

So, Can you build a website from scratch with WordPress?

This CMS is designed in such a way that anyone can build a stunning site even with zero coding knowledge 

It’s perfect for beginners who want to create a website without the hassle of learning complex coding languages. You can add text, images, videos, and other content to your website with just a few clicks.

And the best part?

And if you ever get stuck or need help, the massive WordPress community is on your back. Here are some top reasons why people love WordPress so much….

  • User-friendly interface
  • customizable themes
  • Flexibility
  • SEO-friendly
  • Free and self-hosted

How to Build a Website in WordPress from Scratch: Create a Stunning Website in Just a Few Steps

Not tech savvy?

No worries. By following just a few simple steps, you can create a beautiful site with WordPress. 

Before anything else, we recommend you go with WordPress.com only. Now let’s see the whole process……

  • Step 1: Select the domain and hosting provider
  • Step 2: Install WordPress
  • Step 3: Choose the right theme
  • Step 4: Design the homepage, contact page & other vital pages
  • Step 5: Add content to the posts
  • Step 6: Pay attention to site navigation & customize the website 
  • Step 7: Install plugins
  • Step 8: Speed optimization

First thing first, register the domain and hosting provider

Already pick a name for your website, right?

Awesome!

Now you have to select the domain name for it.

Just like a prime location can attract more visitors to a physical store, an easy-to-spell domain name can help attract more traffic to your website. Let’s see Shopifys suggestion for picking a good, brandable domain name-

  • Length shouldn’t exceed 2-3 words.
  • Incorporate the kw(if possible)
  • Keep it simple
  • Avoid Numbers or dashes in your name. 

So where to buy the domain name? There are many domain registrars to choose from, such as 

  • GoDaddy, 
  • Namecheap, 
  • Bluehost 
  • HostGator

We recommend trying Namecheap. Easy to use, free ssl certification, no hidden fees, privacy, user-friendly dash board, and panel- what else can you ask from a domain provider?

And above everything, it’s cheap!

Now, let’s talk about hosting providers.

We called Hosting the pillar of a website. Just like a strong foundation is critical to building a sturdy house, a reliable hosting provider is playing a vital role in overall website performance.

Always invest in good web hosting!

Some of the reliable hosting services right now are—

  • HostGator
  • Bluehost
  • DreamHost
  • InMotion Hosting
  • GoDaddy
  • Hostwinds
  • Google Cloud
  • InterServer

And our favorite hosting is https://www.hostinger.com/. When it comes to high-end hosting and flexibility, Hostinger is unbeatable. The reason we choose this one?

  • Amazingly affordable
  • Pretty fast load time
  • Downtime alert
  • Frequent back-ups
  • Security

Install the main driving force aka WordPress

We’re building websites on WordPress, remember?

So, this is a must.

And this step is pretty simple actually. All you need to do is connect your hosting to WordPress. If you chose the Hostinger, it’s way easier. This company gave a one-click WordPress installer to promote non-tech people to build websites.

Once WordPress is installed properly, you’re ready to play and customize your website design. And the best thing is WordPress also gave you some pre-made templates which make designing a breeze.

Choose the right theme that goes well with your brand

By default, WordPress has a theme. And it’s speed friendly too.

But the Problem?

That’s kinda plain. Building a great homepage or post will be a little difficult. That’s why marketers and developers use other themes. Like domain and hosting, you have a lot of options when it comes to theme. Some of the popular themes for WordPress are-

  • Thrive theme builder
  • Divi
  • Astra
  • Gutenberg etc

Among them, we really like the Astra theme. It’s super lightweight and has tons of template to design a beautiful website.

Here is how to change your theme from the WordPress dashboard.

Dashboard» Appearance » Themes » Add New

Another theme we found really cool is the Twenty Twenty-Three, a modern yet classic theme from WordPress. With a chic, blank base as a starting point, this theme comes with a lot of room to customize the content and post.

Craft and Design the homepage, contact page & other vital pages 

Listen:

75 percent of people that come to your website see the homepage as a first impression. So, give some more love to this part.

Homepage set the tone of your brand. Here is what you need to focus on the homepage.

  • Who are you? 
  • What do you do? 
  • How are you better than your competitors?

At the same time, update the main pages of your sites (about page, contact page, privacy policy). Make sure that when someone landed your website, they feel the authenticity of your brand.

Add content to the posts 

Got your desired homepage?

Cool!

Now we can pay attention on enrich the post and categories with content. First, decide whether you want to go for-

  • Static pages
  • Or Dynamic pages

WordPress has 2 different kinds of content types by default. The pages are usually static for a simpler yet professional look. On the other hand, the post looks great in dynamic style.

You need to add content to the posts and pages using a block editor or classic editor. Here is how to add a new blog post in WordPress-

Dashboard → Posts → Add New.

Gutenberg made posting a content way lot easier. With the + icon in the header, you can add any media or text easier. A simple way to post content is-

  • Add the title and content
  • Add features image and other relevant images and media file
  • Add categories & Tags
  • Set permalink
  • Add an Excerpt
  • Choose the author

The process of adding new pages is also kinda same. Go to the admin area or dashboard, choose pages, and then add new ones.

Pay attention to site navigation & customize the website 

38% of consumers look at a page’s navigational links and layout when looking at a site for the first time.

This is huge!!!!!

Easy navigation is the key to a great user experience. No matter what theme you choose, you need to customize a few things. There are two kinds of links you might use for website navigation:

  • Internal links
  • External links

Navigation menus give your site organized and help visitors find what they’re looking for. Let us show you the navigation menu on riovizual.com.

So how to create the navigation bar?

You need to go to the admin dashboard>Appearance>Menus

Now customize it as per your desire, how many pages you want to incorporate, how it will look, and the orders.

Install plugins

Plugins are developers’ lifesavers.

No, we’re not kidding!

With over 55,000 plugins (both free & paid) currently in WordPress.org’s library, plugins are the main reason developers love this builder.

What needs countless hours to build from scratch, Plugin can do it in a minute. Here are some must-have plugin lists for WordPress.

  • Yoast SEO/Rank Math: 

At the end of the day, getting Google or organic is everyone’s dream.

And the classic Yoast SEO is still very helpful to show you what you’re missing to optimize your content. 

When you select a keyword, this powerful tool optimizes your page around it.

Plus……give suggestions on what you should add to the content. You can also try Rank Math, it’s the modern version of Yoast SEO with some advanced features.

  • Akismet Anti-Spam: 

We love WordPress.

So do spammers and hackers!

Here Akismet comes in handy.  Launched in 2005, Akismet is still ruling the industry of Comment Spam Blockers. And it’s super easy to set up. Having freemium pricing, all types of developers can enjoy the awesome features to protect their site from the spammer.

  • WPForms:

WPForms make complex forms easy.

Undoubtedly, one of the most user-friendly form builders to build online forms in minutes. The pre-built WordPress form templates allow the user to create forms and surveys in all the fields (& features).

  • MonsterInsights

See the glimpse of your site’s google analytics on the WordPress Dashboard with MonsterInsights. 

MonsterInsights is the google analytics plugin for WordPress. Even big brands like Microsoft, Bloomberg, FedEx, Yelp, and Subway are using MonsterInsights.

Ok, I know what you’re thinking-

I can see it on Analytics, why will I have to see it in WordPress Dashboard, right?

Well, you can improve your website, content, and user experience after tracking the data and bring some change if you think it’s needed.

Yes, WordPress is reliable.

But there are a lot of things attached to the website like domain, hosting, dodgy updates, or simple user error.

Updraft Plus will save your site from these types of crashes.

The plugin automatically takes a scheduled backup and keeps your site safe from any unwanted circumstances.

Like it or not- 99% of your visitors will be served static html files.

Just 1 cache file can do a lot.

WP Super Cache is a popular built-in caching solution to take care of those pesky caches. 

  • Speed optimization

 A one-second site speed improvement can increase mobile conversions by up to 27%. 

Yup, just 1 second can do such a big difference.

Not just conversion rate, it also has a key role in SERP ranking, bringing back loyal customers and even the user experience.

Let’s not forget- we live in an era of instant gratification. The shopper won’t wait those 1 or 2 seconds. That’s why you shouldn’t take this issue lightly.

After setting up the site, focus on speeding up your WordPress site. Do a Run performance test and see the result. There is also a free tool to check the website speed like Core Web Vitals report or GT Metrix.

Check the site and take the initiative to speed up the site. Here is a few suggestions that may help with speed optimization-

  • Choose a reliable hosting provider.
  • Delete unused plugins.
  • Update everything.
  • Use the latest version of PHP.
  • Use a lightweight theme.
  • Install high-quality plugins only.
  • Try lazy loading your content.
  • Optimize images.
  • Don’t host videos on your server.
  • Reduce CSS and JavaScript file sizes.