Do you want to make your own website? For some, starting a website from scratch can be daunting, especially if you’re not a web developer.
Fortunately, creating your site on WordPress isn’t as hard as it may seem. In this post, we’ll give you a walkthrough on how to set up your website on WordPress.
Step 1: Get a domain name and hosting
Before you set up your website, you need to register your domain name as well as your hosting space.
Select a domain name and ensure that it’s available. If the domain that you pick is already registered, come up with a new one, or choose from one of the suggestions.
Once you have your domain name, move on with the hosting. After choosing a hosting plan that’s right for you, proceed with the checkout.
When choosing a reputable hosting provider, take your location and previous experience in getting a domain and hosting (if you have any) into consideration. There are a lot of hosting services out there, and because of the fierce competition, it’s crucial for them to deliver only the best services.
Step 2: Choose a FREE design based on your profession
Here’s the reason why WordPress is the perfect option if you want to create your business website:
- It’s free
- It’s easy to use
- There are several themes that you can choose from
- Most of the themes are customizable
- It’s open source
- There are plug-ins
- It’s easy to manage
- It’s convenient
When picking a theme, choose one that fits your specific niche. On WordPress, there will be all sorts of themes that can fit your needs. Whether you own a pet shop, you’re a freelancer, a jewelry designer, an e-commerce store, a fashion brand ‒ you name it, they have it!
Step 3: Make your edits
Once you’re done choosing the website theme that suits your business, the next thing you need to do is customize it, Here are some WordPress elements that you can edit:
- Logo and site title: This is essential when establishing your brand’s online presence, as well as being an industry leader.
- Colors and background: Having a pre-designed theme doesn’t mean that you’re stuck with your site’s design. You can still make changes on how you want your website to look like. That way, you can ensure that its design is aligned with your branding.
- Page elements: Focus on what you want your site to look like. What elements do you want to place on your homepage, footer, and sidebars? Also, always keep user experience into consideration.
You can quickly solve this problem by using widgets. They’ll help you restructure your site quite quickly. For instance, if you don’t have a comment section on your homepage, you can add a comment widget. If you want to place your calendar on the sidebar, then put the calendar widget on it.
Also, whenever you’re making edits on your WordPress site, it’s crucial to add an Under Construction page and Coming Soon page. That way, you can inform your site visitors whenever your website is undergoing some revamps or update.
There might also be circumstances where you have to reset your WordPress website. This usually happens whenever you need to rebuild or rebrand your site, cleaning out a test installation, or restoring your website from a back-up.
Step 4: Add your information
After you’re done with the design and customization, it’s time to update your site with useful and fresh content.
- Create pages and add navigation: It’s crucial that you design your navigation and arrange your site pages strategically. Once you have the links arranged and you have smooth site navigation, it’s easy for visitors to navigate through and explore your website. For your site navigation, you can craft intuitive menus, as well as links to all the essential pages of your site. Whether or not you want you to show your site menu, it’s your call. Just ensure that you include the links that matter most on your site’s pages.
- Make your homepage elegant: An elegant homepage is a combination of excellent content and design. It should have all the necessary information about your business.
- The service page/s: It can either be a single page or multiple pages that show what you do. Your service pages could either contain information about your service’s pricing, the types of services that you offer, as well as all the work you’ve accomplished.
- About Us: Your “About Us” page’s goal is for your customers to get to know you better so that they can trust you. It’s essential that you tell your clients more about your brand and business.
- Contact forms: On your business site, your contact form is a vital module. Through it, your prospects can quickly get in touch with you and ask for help. If your theme doesn’t have a contact form, don’t worry. There are a lot of contact form plug-ins that you can incorporate on your site.
- The blog section: Having a blog isn’t compulsory for a business website. However, it can also work wonders for your business if you use them properly. So, utilize this action to keep your readers informed and let prospects know that you’ve made recent changes in your business policies. Alternatively, you can use this section to inform your clients that you’re giving away exclusive deals.
Step 5: Promote and Maintain
Once you’re done adding the critical content on your website, it’s time to spread the word about it. Here’s how:
- Business cards: Helps you promote your site to your current customer base by placing your site’s address on the card.
- Local advertisements: Depending on your type of business, you can select an area where you want to advertise your business and website.
- Social media: Create an account on various social media channels like Facebook, and leverage it to reach more people to drive website traffic.
- Advertise on relevant sites: You can approach websites that are within your niche to advertise your business and vice versa.
Over to You
Since tech-savvy customers these days spend a lot of time online, creating your site is a logical step to do. That way, you can find more clients and customers to boost your revenues and sales. Through WordPress, you already have a primary site, allowing you to add more features and expand your online presence.