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WordPress is a content management system (CMS) that allows you to host and build websites.
It is a platform that is adaptable and expandable. We love WordPress and is what OR Media’s website runs on. Here you’ll learn how to build a website with WordPress and the type of content you should create to land new customers.
Things You Will Need
Domain
A domain name serves as a website’s specific address. It typically comprises the name of the website and the domain extension. It is one of the first few steps you’ll need to take when building any website.
We recommend you use NameCheap. You can follow their guide here.
Hosting
Web hosting can be defined as the virtual space for a website to be hosted on the internet. Like anything, you get what you pay for. Even if you’re a small business owner who’s starting out, we don’t believe it’s worth the hassle of opting for cheaper web hosting.
Why?
Not only will your website run slower for your users but for you as well. Additionally, cheap hosting can affect your uptime (the time your website is up and running) and SEO.
We recommend Siteground.
Themes
A WordPress theme is a collection of files (graphics, style sheets, and code) that determines how your blog or website will look overall. The website’s appearance is something that themes may control.
We love StudioPress and we’ll cover this more in-depth later in this article.
Is a WordPress Website Free?
WordPress is a free and open-source platform that offers you a wide variety of lovely theme options for the majority of small business owners.
With this open-source software, you have the ability to use, change, expand upon, and redistribute the program however you see fit without having to pay any fees.
The best part about it is how it works seamlessly with adding blog content, which is essential in the future to get organic traffic back to your website.
Many WordPress themes are optimized for SEO, giving you the ability to not only have a beautiful-looking website but one that ranks as well.
How Much Will It Cost To Build Your Website?
Building your website with WordPress doesn’t have to cost your business an arm and a leg. As a business owner, you should spend your money effectively and invest in enhancements later down the road.
However, you will need a website. Why?
Here you’ll host your products and showcase your expertise. Additionally, you can send your potential clients to your business website.
How to use this tutorial?
Read this tutorial several times if necessary to get a grasp of the steps.
Pace yourself and construct your website whenever you have a few hours to spare, especially if this is your first time doing so.
Finally, don’t aim for perfection. We believe that if you follow our tutorial to the end, you’ll have the bare bones of a decent-looking website.
Although you won’t have advanced website features (i.e. email opt-ins, SEO optimization) you’ll still be able to look professional to your customers.
If you get stuck, feel free to contact us. We’d not only help you build a beautiful-looking website but one that’s optimized for SEO plus much more.
Now, let’s get started.
Website Setup
Choose a Domain Name
We recommend getting a domain from Namecheap. You can follow the directions below:
- Access your Namecheap account via namecheap.com.
- Choose Marketplace by scrolling over Domains at the top of the page.
- Go to the Buy Now tab, select a domain name you like, and then put it in your shopping cart.
- Once added to your cart, select Checkout to continue with the payment.
Pro tip: If your company name isn’t available don’t lose hope.
Here are a few options:
- Name your audience. For example, VeganCoaches.
- Name your business topic. For example, SEOMarketing.
- Name your business benefit. For example, SaveMoreMoney.
Choose Hosting (Siteground)
To point your NameCheap Domain to SiteGround, follow the steps below:
Step 1: Locate your SiteGround NameServer records
You will need to visit your SiteGround User Area and login in order to find your SiteGround NameServer records. Select the Information & Settings tab from the My Accounts drop-down menu. Account DNS may be viewed from here.
Note: Your Siteground DNS records will be slightly different than those shown above.
Step 2: Update your NameCheap NameServers
Log in to your NameCheap account first. Select Dashboard by hovering over your account name in the top left corner. Your domains should appear in a list. Next to the domain, you want to edit, click Manage. Search for the NAMESERVERS section.
Type the two NameServer Records you discovered in step 1 into the corresponding Nameserver 1 and Nameserver 2 fields. Save by clicking the green checkmarks.
Install WordPress with Siteground
Now that you’ve pointed your Domain to Siteground, it’s time to install WordPress!
If you’ve made it this far, feel proud of yourself.
Step 1. Use the Website Setup Wizard to Install WordPress
Access your Client Area and click the Websites > New Website option to install WordPress using the Website Setup Wizard. You will be asked to choose the domain name you wish to use with your new WordPress installation in a new section that will appear.
Once you have decided on the option you choose, click Continue to proceed to the next step. You should select whether to start a new website or migrate an existing one to the next stage. Click on Select under Start New Website.
Select WordPress and type your new WordPress application’s desired login details. Once you are ready, click on Continue. Next, choose if there are any improvements you want to make to your website. Click Finish when you are done with this step.
That’s it! You may now start adding material to your website by visiting the home page of your website or by going to the WordPress admin.
To login to the backend of your website type in this in your browser: https://www.example.com/admin/ or log in through WordPress Admin via Siteground.
Choose Theme
Your website’s theme determines its general appearance, tone, and design. In choosing the theme, we recommend using StudioPress. We love this theme because it’s optimized for SEO.
We recommend you try to avoid installing free themes. Although there are many great-looking themes they’ll most likely require additional work later on.
How?
Free themes are limited in their functionality so at some point, you’ll find yourself working with a developer to add custom features. Additionally, free themes aren’t always appropriately coded.
As the saying goes, you get what you pay for.
To begin installing your StudioPress theme you’ll need to be logged in to the backend of your WordPress website.
How to install StudioPress
After purchasing your StudioPress theme you’ll receive an email confirmation to access your zip file.
On the backend of your WordPress website navigate to your WordPress Dashboard > Appearance > Theme, then click on the Add New button.
Click on the Upload Theme button and then click on Choose File option to select the downloaded theme ZIP file. Then choose Install Now.
After the file finishes uploading select Activate.
Add Content
WordPress automatically displays your blog entries on the front page of your website. You can adjust that and enable WordPress to display any static page as your website’s front page.
To display your most recent postings, you can create a separate page for your blog or news section. As an alternative, you might design a website without any sort of blog section.
Here is how you can add content to your website:
The first thing you’ll do is add a few pages to your WordPress website. If you currently need more content for these pages, you can always update and edit them later on.
Go over to Pages then to Add New page in the WordPress admin area. This will take you to the page editor screen, which, depending on your theme, will appear somewhat like this:
You must first give your website a title; let’s call your page “Home.” The text editor below can then be used to add content. You may include text, links, photos, videos, audio, and more.
Depending on the StudioPress theme you’ve installed, you should see a similar Template Kit feature. This feature will allow you to create branded pages that are pre-built so you don’t have to create them from scratch.
You can publish content to your website by clicking the publish button after adding it to a page.
Repeat the process by creating additional pages for other website sections. For instance, a blog page that showcases blog articles, a contact page, and an about page.
You can also add blog posts as well!
In your WordPress admin area, navigate to Posts and click Add New. You’ll see a screen very similar to the one you saw earlier when creating pages.
In the visual post editor, you can first add a post title before adding content. In the sidebar, you’ll also see some other options including post types, categories, and tags.
You can either click the publish button to make your post available on your site or the save button to save it as a draft.
Your business blog is an important feature that many business owners miss. Depending on your business type here you’ll add updates about your company but more often than not you’ll create content for your audience.
This is part of the bread and butter of what we do as a branding agency. Check out our blog for more in-depth tips for content strategy for your business.
Customize Website
First, let’s create a homepage.
Setting Up a Static Front Page
Go to Settings then the Reading page in your WordPress admin dashboard. Select “Pages” that you already made for your pages under the “Front page displays” option after clicking on the static front page.
The ‘Home’ page will now serve as the home page for your website, while the ‘Blog’ page will show your blog postings.
Don’t forget to click Save every time you make changes to your site.
Change Site Title and Tagline
By going to the Settings » General tab, you can modify the name and tagline of your website whenever you like.
You can change both your site’s title and tagline at any time by visiting the Settings » General page. Click Save every time you make changes to your site.
Set up Comments Settings
Users can comment on your posts using the built-in commenting system that is included with WordPress. To modify this, click on Settings then the Discussions page, and go down to the ‘Before a comment appears’ section. Select “Comment must be manually approved” by checking the box.
Don’t forget to click Save every time you make changes to your site.
Create Navigation Menus
To create Navigation Menu for your website, you need to click on Appearance and then the Menus page. Give your navigation menu a name, then press the “create menu” button.
After that, choose the pages you wish to appear in your menu by clicking the add to the menu option.
These menu items can be moved up and down to change where they appear on the menu. Don’t forget to click Save every time you make changes to your site.
The next step is to choose a display location. Typically, the top of your website’s header features a primary menu.
Finally, after saving your navigation menu, visit your website to view it in action by clicking the Save Menu button.
Install Plugins
A plugin is a piece of software that can be added to your WordPress website and contains a number of functionalities. They can enhance the operation of your WordPress website or add new features without requiring you to know a single line of code.
You can follow the steps below as they will help you install and select a WordPress plugin for your dashboard.
- Choose the Add New link from the Plugins menu on the left inside the WordPress Dashboard.
- A plugin can be found using a name, category, or function search. Just enter the plugin’s name in the Keyword area.
- Click the Install Now button to the right of the plugin you’d like to download.
- Your plugin is now accessible. To activate it, click the link that says “Activate.”
The plugin you activated has now been added to your WordPress blog. At any moment, you can examine, deactivate, or delete plugins by returning to the Plugins menu.
Similar to themes there are thousands of plugins available. Here are our recommended plugins to install on your WordPress website:
- Yoast SEO
- WPRocket
- Pretty Links
- Insert Headers and Footers
Enhance Your Website’s Marketing
Create Blog Content
Blogging isn’t new but it doesn’t mean it’s no longer effective.
The reality is that SEO takes months to kick in and isn’t easy to implement, which is why most businesses skip this part. By opting for great hosting and a quality theme you’re already off to a great start.
As you create blog content, use Yoast SEO to ensure it’s SEO-optimized. We recommend that you create blog content that’s 1000-3000 words long. To find relevant topics use Buzzsumo and Ubbgersuggest. Check out our blog for more in-depth tutorials on how to do this.
It’s best to stick with a realistic schedule. If you can only create one blog post per month, stick to this schedule. After a year you’ll have 12 posts and after 2-3 years, you’ll have a decent amount of content. The name of the game is quality.
Focus on creating content that will help your customers find answers to their problems.
Start a Podcast
A podcast is a collection of audio recordings subscribers can download and listen to via Apple Podcast, Google, and so on. It has a lot of benefits for brands and businesses.
Similar to your website hosting, your podcast will also need separate hosting. However, if you’d like you can opt to host your podcast recordings on your website.
For example, you can include a media player at the beginning or end of a blog post. The problem is that a lot of listeners prefer to listen from their smartphones because it’s easier. If you’re looking to try podcasting for your business, hosting on your website is a great option to start off.
When you’re ready to commit to podcasting, we recommend Lybsin or Buzzsprout to host your episodes.
Podcasting allows you to connect with new and existing audiences in a unique way. Listeners can get to know you on a personal level, helping you build trust.
Build Your Branded WordPress Website
Building a website takes a lot of work.
If you took action on our tutorial and built your business website feel proud of yourself. You should have a branded website that’s optimized for SEO.
Now comes another challenge, creating consistent content for your customers. Whether it’s blogging or podcasting we commend you to focus on one medium and do this well unless you have a team who can help.
Customers now have more options than ever for products and services. For your business to stand out, you’re going to need more than a good-looking website. Pick your medium, stay consistent, and watch the effects of branding take place after some time.
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