Once you find and register your domain name, you need to set up and hosting account and install a WordPress blog in it.
If you do not have a domain name yet, please read here on the process of how to find and register a domain name.
In this post, I am going to explain how to set up your WordPress website in WPX hosting as this is the hosting I use for my main blogs ( I have three main blogs), the rest I host on Bluehost.
If you are under budget you can start to host your blog in Bluehost and when you start getting traffic and making some money you can move it to WPX hosting.
I explain how to register for your hosting account and install WordPress in Bluehost here.
How to sign up with WPX Hosting and install WordPress.
Step 1: Go to wpx.net and click on the “Start Now ” button.
Step 2: Select the package you want and if you want to pay per month or per year ( paying per year it costs less).
Step 3: Select the server location, you need to select the server near where you expect most of your customers will come from, you have three options, UK, US, and Australia, for me I selected the US.
Step 4: Enter your domain name, ( you should have it by now, if not just register a new one with them).
Step 5:Click the continue button and you will be taken to the payment options page. Select how do you want to pay for it.
Step 6: Fill in the required information.
Step 7: Accept terms and click on checkout.
Step 8: If you do not want to install WordPress yourself you can just click on the chart button, it is everywhere, and ask one of the support guys to install it for you, they will answer you in less than 30 seconds and ask you some information and in less than 10 minutes you will have your WordPress installed and configured for the maximum speed.
If do you want to install it yourself just log in, go to my services, click on manage website, and then click on add a new website.
Step 9: Click on install WordPress, provide your admin email and username, generate a strong password, save it you will need it, and lastly click on create a website, wait for a minute and you will see a message that indicates that the WordPress has been installed.
Choosing a Theme/Template for your site
Once you have successfully installed WordPress to your domain, you’ll see a very basic yet clean site:
But you don’t want to look like everyone else, do you? That’s why you need a theme – a design template that tells WordPress how your website should look.
Here’s where it gets fun: There are thousands of awesome, professionally designed themes you can choose from and customize for a site that’s all your own.
Here’s how to find a WordPress theme you like:
1) Log into your WordPress dashboard
If you’re not sure how to type in: http://yoursite.com/wp-admin (replace “yoursite” with your domain).
Use the email/username you created when you were installing WordPress.
This is what the WordPress dashboard looks like:
Everything is easily labeled. If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t sweat it – I’m going to show you where to go next.
2) Access FREE themes
Once you’re in the dashboard, you’ve got access to over 1500 free themes! Just look along the sidebar for “Appearance”, then click “Themes”.
If you want something more professional or elegant than what you find here, you can head over to thrivethemes.com where you will find a perfect theme to run your online business.
But before you do that, I really suggest you at least try spending some time browsing the free themes. Many of them are actually really professional and well made; so don’t write them off.
When you make some cash then you can invest some money in a theme or personalized design.
As you can see above, installing a new theme for your website is very easy.
You can search for specific keywords and/or use filters to find themes that suit your style. Finding the perfect theme can take a while, but it’s worth it.
You should also look for themes that are “responsive”, as this means they will look good on any mobile device.
Just punch it in as one of your keywords, and you’ll be all set!
3) Install your new theme
Once you have found a theme you like, installing it is as simple as clicking “Install” followed by “Activate”.
How to and basic pages to your site
With your theme installed, you’re ready to start creating content. But before doing that there are some things that we need to do first, one of them is creating basic pages.
What are the basic pages?
The basic pages are pages that you must have on your blog, these are the about me page, contact us page, and legal pages.
Adding and editing pages
Create a new page
Want a “Services” page, or an “About Me” page (like I have on my menu at the top of the site?)
- Look along the sidebar in the WordPress Dashboard for “Pages” -> “Add New”.
- Once you’ve clicked, you’ll find a screen that looks a lot like what you’ve maybe seen in Microsoft Word. Add text, images, and more to build the page you want, then save it when you’re done.
For the about page, just introduce yourself, who you are, where you live and why you started the blog, people like that, explain to them what they should expect from your blog and how to contact you.
That is it.
Here is the link to my about page. https://soccergems.com/about/
Adding pages to the menu
If you want your new page to be linked-to in your navigation bar,
- Save any changes you’ve made to the page by clicking “Update”
- Click “Appearance” -> “Menus” in the sidebar of the WordPress Dashboard
- Find the page you created and add it to the list by clicking the checkbox next to it and then “Add to Menu”.
After finishing click the save menu button to save it.
Adding and editing posts
If you have a blog on your website, “Posts” will be where you turn to next. You can use different categories to group similar posts.
If you want to add a blog to your website, you can use different categories and posts. Let’s say you want to create a category named “blog”. To do so, simply add it to your menu and start making posts.
Here’s what you need to do:
- Create a new category by going to “Posts -> Categories”
OR
- Create a blog post by going to “Posts -> Add New”. Once you’ve finished writing your blog post is ready, you need to add the right category for it.
Once you’ve created your category, simply add it to the menu, and you’re in business!
Customizations & Tweaks (Widgets, comments & just some “stuff” you need to know)
In this section, I will cover some of the basics things I’m asked about all the time that will help you to tweak your website.
Changing Your Title and Tagline
Page titles explain to searchers what your website is about, and they’re also a big part of how search engines determine your rankings, so you want to be sure they’ve got the keywords you want to target in them (but in a natural way, written for real people).
You should use a unique title on every page of your site. For example, my site’s title is “Soccer Gems”.
(Can’t find it? Just hold your mouse over the tab at the top of your web browser).
Taglines are added at the end of titles across every page. My site’s tagline is “Let us discuss the beautiful game”
In order to change the title and tagline on your website, go to “Settings -> General” and fill in the form below:
Disabling Comments for Posts & Pages
Some websites (business/organization sites mostly) don’t want their visitors to be able to comment on their pages.
Here’s how to shut comments off on WordPress pages:
- While you are writing a new page, click “Screen Options” in the top right corner.
- Click the “Discussion” box. The “Allow Comments” box will appear at the bottom.
- Untick “Allow Comments”.
Want to disable comments on every new page by default?
- Go to “Settings -> Discussion” and untick “Allow people to post comments on news articles”
Setting Up a Static Front Page
Some people are frustrated that their home page looks like a blog post. You can fix that by making your home page “static”.
A static page is a page that doesn’t change. Unlike a blog, where the first new article will show up at the top every time, a “static” page will show the same content every time someone comes to the site – like a home page you’ve designed.
To set up a static front page:
- Go to “Settings -> Reading”
- Choose a static page that you have created. “Front Page” denotes your home page, “Posts page” is the front page of your blog (if your entire site isn’t a blog).
If you don’t choose a static page on your own, WordPress will take your latest posts and start showing them on your homepage.
Editing sidebar
Most WordPress themes have a sidebar on the right side (in some cases it’s on the left).
If you want to get rid of the sidebar or edit out items you do not need like “Categories”, “Meta” and “Archives”, which are usually pointless, here’s how:
- Go to “Appearance -> Widgets” in the WordPress Dashboard.
- From here, you can use drag n’ drop to add different “boxes” to your sidebar or remove the items you don’t want.
There’s also an “HTML box” – a text box where you can use HTML code. For beginners, don’t worry about this bit – just drag and drop the elements you’d like in your sidebar.
Installing Plugins to Get More out of WordPress
What is a plugin?
“Plugins” are extensions that are built to expand WordPress’s capabilities, adding features and functions to your site that don’t come built-in.
They’re shortcuts to getting your site to do what you want to, without having to build the feature from scratch.
You can use plugins to do everything from adding photo galleries and submission forms to optimizing your website and creating an online store.
How do I Install a new Plugin?
To start installing plugins, go to “Plugins -> Add New” and simply start searching.
Keep in mind that there are over 52,000 different FREE plugins, so you’ve got a LOT to choose from!
Installation is easy – once you find a plugin you like, just click “Install”.
Just install few plugins on your blog, installing many of them will make your site slow and you do not need that.
Here is a list of the most important plugins you must install, as you start using your site you will find other useful plugins and you will install them.
Contact Form 7:
My website has a contact form on my About Me page. It’s an awesome feature to have, as people can fill in the form and send me an email without logging into their own email provider.
Yoast SEO for WordPress:
If you want to make your WordPress site even more SEO-friendly, this plugin is a must-have. It’s free, and it’s awesome. You’ll be able to edit your title tags, meta descriptions, and more, all from within the page itself – no more fussing with WordPress settings.
Jeckpart for WordPress
Think of Jetpack as the ultimate toolkit for your WordPress website. It has a tool to help you design your site, track statistics, improve social sharing, and prevent attacks. All these core features are free, too.
Askimet Antispam
As soon as your WordPress website goes live, you can expect spam comments to start showing up. This plugin will help you to filter spam comments.
WordFence
This is an Anti-virus, Firewall, and Malware Scan, it will scan and protect your site from online attacks, you need to install this.
W3 Total Cache
The highest-rated and most complete WordPress performance plugin. Dramatically improve the speed and user experience of your site.
Really Simple SSL
This plugin with help to implement the SSL Certificate on your blog. Both WPX Hosting and Bluehost will give one for free.
For the meaning of the SSL certificate and how to activate it on your website please click here.
Final words
Congratulations – you’re ready to launch!
That is it, this is how to set up your WordPress website. If you’ve followed the steps in this guide, you should now have a fully-functional WordPress website! That wasn’t so bad, was it?
I hope you found this guide really useful –but if you have any more questions or need help with one of the steps I highlighted, I’m happy to share some guidance. For this, contact me on Facebook.
