Are you looking to make a website? Starting a website can be a terrifying thought specially when you’re not techy. Don’t worry, you’re not alone.
Having helped over 400,000+ people make a website with WordPress, we have decided to create the most comprehensive step by step guide on how to create a WordPress website without learning how to code.
This guide is useful for users of all ages and skill levels. However, if you need help, then you can contact our expert team to help you setup your website for free.
→ Click Here to Get Your Free WordPress Website Setup! ←
If you want to do it by yourself, then please continue with this post, our beginner-friendly guide on how to make a website.
Here is an overview from start to finish of all the steps we’ll walk you through in this guide.
- How to find and register a domain name for free
- How to choose the best web hosting
- How to install WordPress
- Installing a template and customizing your site’s design
- Creating pages in WordPress
- Customizing WordPress with addons and extensions
- Resources to learn WordPress and get support
- Taking it further, building websites with more features (eCommerce stores, membership sites, selling online courses, and more).
Before we start creating a website, let’s cover some of the most commonly asked questions that we get.
First, no you DO NOT need to be a web developer to create a custom website. Our guide is written for non-techy users, and we will show you a no-code solution to create a website.
With that said, let’s look at all the things you need to build a website.
What do I need to build a website?
You’ll need the following three things to start your WordPress site.
- A domain name – this is the name of your website such as google.com
- WordPress hosting – this is where your website files are stored.
- 45 minutes of your undivided attention.
How much does a WordPress website cost?
The answer to this question really depends on what kind of website you are trying to build. We have written a comprehensive 3,000-word guide explaining how much does it really cost to build a website.
A typical personal website can cost as low as $100. The cost of a business website can range from anywhere between $100 per year to as high as $30,000 per year.
We recommend all our users to start small and then add more features to your website as your business grows. This way you will save money and minimize potential losses while avoiding overspending.
In this guide, we’ll show you how to build a website for less than $100.
We will also show you how to take it further by adding more features to it in the future.
Which is the best website builder platform?
There are many website builders available that will help you setup a website. We recommend using self-hosted WordPress as your website platform.
WordPress is the most popular website platform in the world. It powers nearly 43% of all websites on the internet.
WordPress is free, open source, and comes with thousands of pre-built website designs and extensions. It is extremely flexible and works with almost every third-party tool and service available to website owners.
We use WordPress to build all our websites including this one, WPBeginner.
How to make the most of this website design tutorial?
This is a step by step tutorial on how to make a website. We have divided it into different steps, and we’ll walk you through everything from start to finish. Just follow along the instructions, and you’ll have a professional looking website in the end.
We will also point you in the right direction on how to take your website to the next level based on your needs.
Have fun creating your WordPress website.
Remember, if you need help, you can contact us and we will setup your website for free.
Let’s get started.
How to Create a Website (Video Tutorial)
If you prefer written instructions, then please continue reading.
Step 1. Website Setup
One of the most common mistakes that beginners make is choosing the wrong website platform. Thankfully, you are here so you will not be making that mistake.
For most users, a self-hosted WordPress.org site is the perfect solution. It comes with thousands of designs and addons which allow you to create any kind of website you can think of. For more on this topic, please see our guide on why you should use WordPress.
WordPress is free for anyone to download and use to build any kind of website without any restrictions.
If WordPress is free, then where is the cost coming from?
WordPress is free because you’ll have to arrange your own custom domain name and web hosting provider, which costs money. For more on this topic, see our article why is WordPress free?
A domain name is your website’s address on the internet. This is what your users will type in their browsers to reach your site (For example, wpbeginner.com or google.com).
Next, you’ll need website hosting. All websites on the internet need a web host to store their website files. This will be your website’s home on the internet.
A domain name typically costs $14.99/year and hosting costs start from $7.99/month.
This is A LOT for most people who are just starting out.
Thankfully, Bluehost, has agreed to offer our users a free domain name and over 60% off on web hosting.
Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies in the world. They are also an official WordPress-recommended hosting partner.
They have been working with WordPress since 2005, and are committed to give back to the community. That’s why they have promised us that if you cannot set up your website by following this tutorial, then our expert team will complete the process for you without any cost. They will compensate us, so you don’t have to. Feel free to contact us for free website setup help.
Note: At WPBeginner, we believe in transparency. If you purchase hosting using our referral link, then we will get a small commission at no additional cost to you. In fact, you will get a discount on hosting + free SSL + a free domain name. We would get this commission for recommending any WordPress hosting company, but we only recommend products that we personally use and believe will add value to our readers.
Let’s go ahead and purchase a domain name and hosting.
First, you’ll need to go to the Bluehost website in a new browser window and click on the green ‘Get Started Now’ button.
This will bring you to a pricing page where you will need to choose a hosting plan for your website.
Basic and plus plans are the most popular choices among our users.
You’ll need to click on Select to choose the plan that you like and continue to the next step.
On the next screen, you’ll be asked to select a new domain name.
Ideally, you should stick to a .com domain name. Make sure it is related to your business, easy to pronounce and spell, and easy to remember.
Need help with choosing a domain name for your website? See these tips and tools on how to choose the best domain name.
After choosing your domain name, click on the next button to continue.
Now you’ll be asked to provide your account information such as name, address, email, etc.
On this screen, you will also see optional extras you can purchase. We generally don’t recommend purchasing these extras. You can always add them later on if you decide that you need them.
Next, you will add your payment information to finish the purchase.
After completing your purchase, you’ll receive an email with details on logging in to your web hosting control panel (cPanel).
This is your hosting account dashboard where you manage everything, like getting support, setting up emails, etc. Most importantly, this is where you’ll install WordPress.
Step 2. Install WordPress
When you signup with Bluehost using our link, they will automatically install WordPress for you. They launched this one-click WordPress installer to make it easier for non-techy users to create their websites.
What this means is you simply need to log in to your Bluehost account and then click the Login to WordPress button to get started. This setup process has reduced the learning curve needed to make a website.
You can also login to the WordPress dashboard by going to yoursite.com/wp-admin/ directly from your browser.
Your Bluehost account can also be used to create multiple websites. Simply go to the My Sites section and use their one-click WordPress installer to make additional websites.
If you are using a different WordPress website hosting service like SiteGround, Hostinger, HostGator, WP Engine, etc, then you can see our comprehensive guide on how to install WordPress for step-by-step instructions for those providers.
Once WordPress is set up, you’re ready to customize your website design by selecting a new template and creating new pages.
Wasn’t that easy?
Now, let’s move on to the next step and choose a design for your website.
Step 3. Select Your Theme
A WordPress theme controls the visual appearance of your WordPress site.
WordPress themes are professionally designed templates you can install on your website to change its appearance.
By default, each WordPress site comes with a basic theme. If you visit your website, then it will look something like this:
This is not very appealing to most users.
But don’t worry. There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes that you can install on your site.
You can change the WordPress theme for your website from the admin dashboard. Visit the Appearance » Themes page and click the ‘Add New’ button.
On the next screen, you can search from 11,000+ free WordPress themes available in the official WordPress.org themes directory.
You can sort them by popular, latest, featured, and other feature filters (i.e. industry, layout, etc).
Need help choosing a theme? Check out our list of these awesome free WordPress business themes and our pick of the best premium themes for WordPress.
For the sake of this guide, we’ll be using Astra. It is a popular multi-purpose free WordPress theme with flexible design options for all kinds of websites.
If you want to create a completely custom WordPress theme, we recommend using the SeedProd builder for WordPress.
We have created a detailed tutorial on creating a custom WordPress theme without writing any code.
How to Install a Theme in WordPress
If you know the name of the free theme you want to install, you can look for it by entering it in the search field.
WordPress will show you the theme in search results. You will need to take your mouse over to the theme and then click on the Install button.
Once you have installed your theme, you can customize it by clicking on the Customize link under the Appearance menu.
This will launch the theme customizer, where you will be able to change your theme settings with live preview of your website.
If you’re using one of the newer full site editing themes, you will see a different version of the site customizer that can be found at the Editor link under Appearance.
However, keep in mind that neither the default WordPress customizer nor the Full Site Editor offer a true drag & drop customization experience.
This is why many website professionals and small business owners choose to use a WordPress page builder plugin like SeedProd to customize any theme to update fonts, change styles, colors, and other items to match your website needs.
You can even create a fully custom WordPress theme without any code.
Remember, you don’t need to finalize all theme settings right away. You can customize it much better once you have some content on your website.
Let’s see how to add content to your WordPress site.
Step 4. Add Content to Your Website
WordPress comes with two default content types called posts and pages. Posts are part of the blogging functionality and appear in reverse-chronological order (newer items are displayed first).
On the other hand, pages are meant to be static “one-off” type content such as your about page, contact page, privacy policy, custom landing page, etc.
By default, WordPress shows your blog posts on the front page of your website. You can change that, and make WordPress show any static page as the homepage of your website (we’ll show you how to do that later in this guide).
You can create a separate page for your blog or news section to show your recent posts. Alternatively, you can create a website without any blog section at all.
Let’s add some content to your website.
You’ll start by adding a few pages to your WordPress site. Don’t worry if you don’t have enough content for these pages. You can always edit and update them.
Head over to Pages » Add New page in WordPress admin area. This will bring you to the page editor screen, which will look similar to this, depending on your theme:
First, you need to provide a title for your page. Let’s call this page ‘Home.’
After that, you can add content in the text editor below. You can add text, links, images, embed videos, audio, etc.
After adding content to your page, you can click the publish button to make it live on your website.
You can repeat the process by adding more pages for different website sections. For example, an about page, contact us, and a blog page to display blog posts.
Now let’s add a few blog posts as well.
Head over to Posts » Add New in your WordPress admin area, where you will see a screen like you saw earlier when adding pages.
You can add a post title and content in the visual post editor. You’ll also notice some extra options in the sidebar, like post formats, categories and tags.
You can click on the Save button to store your post as a draft or the Publish button to make it visible on your site.
For more detailed instructions on utilizing all these options on post and page edit screens, please see our guide on adding a new post in WordPress.
Step 5. Customizing and Tweaking Your Website
Now that you have created some content for your website, you will be able to customize and put it all in an excellent presentable shape for your users.
Let’s start by setting up a static front page (or homepage).
Setting up a Static Front Page
Visit the Settings » Reading page in your WordPress admin dashboard. Under the ‘Front page displays’ option, click on the static front page and then select ‘Pages’ you created earlier for your home and blog pages.
Don’t forget to click on the ‘Save Changes’ button at the bottom of the page to store your changes.
WordPress will now use the page titled ‘Home’ as your site’s front page and ‘Blog’ page to display your blog posts.
Change Site Title and Tagline
During the installation, you get to choose your site’s title. Optionally, you can also choose to add a short tagline to describe your website.
You can change your site’s title and tagline at any time by visiting the Settings » General page.
Your site title will be the name of your website, like WPBeginner. The tagline is usually a single line that describes your website.
You can also leave the tagline field blank because WordPress SEO plugins like AIOSEO, Yoast SEO, and others will override it for better search engine optimization (more on this later).
Don’t forget to click the save changes button to store your settings.
Set up Comments Settings
WordPress has a built-in comment system allowing users to leave comments on your posts. This is great for WordPress user engagement, but it is also targeted by spammers.
You’ll need to enable comment moderation on your website to deal with this.
Visit the Settings » Discussions page and scroll down to the ‘Before a comment appears’ section. Check the box next to the ‘Comment must be manually approved’ option.
Don’t forget to click the save changes button to store your settings.
Adding Navigation Menus in WordPress
Navigation menus allow users to browse different pages of sections on your website. WordPress has a powerful navigation menu system and your WordPress theme uses it to display the menus.
Depending on your WordPress theme there are two ways to create and edit navigation menus in WordPress.
1. Create Navigation Menus in Classic Themes
If you are using a classic WordPress theme, then you will be able to visit the Appearance » Menus page.
From here, enter a name for your navigation menu and click the blue Create Menu button.
WordPress will now create an empty navigation menu.
Next, select the pages you want to display in your menu and click the add to menu button.
You will notice your selected pages filling the empty area of your navigation menu.
You can move these menu items up and down to rearrange their position on the menu.
Now you need to select a display location. Your WordPress theme defines these locations. Usually, most WordPress themes have a primary menu in your website header at the top.
Finally, click on the save menu button to store your navigation menu.
You can now visit your website to see the menu in action.
2. Creating Navigation Menus in Site Editor
If you are using a block-based WordPress theme, then you can add navigation menus by visiting the Appearance » Editor page.
Click on the area where you want to add or edit the menu, and WordPress will open it for editing.
Alternatively, you can choose the template where you want to add the menu from the left column. Most websites usually place navigation menus in the Header template.
In the Site Editor, click the Add (+) new block button and add the Navigation block.
After that, click on the Add (+) button under the Navigation block settings under the right column.
After that, select Page link to add a link to the post, page, or category on your website.
You can move items up and down by moving them in the menu.
Once you are finished, don’t forget to click on the Save button to store your changes.
For more detailed instructions, see our beginner’s guide on how to add a navigation menu in WordPress.
Step 6. Installing Plugins in WordPress
WordPress Plugins are like apps for your WordPress site. They allow you to add features and customizations to your WordPress site. Think of contact forms, photo galleries, etc.
You can install plugins from your WordPress dashboard by clicking on the Plugins page.
There are currently more than 59,000 free plugins available for WordPress. There are also paid plugins sold by third-party websites and developers.
With this many plugins, how do you find which plugins to install? We got you covered there as well. See our guide on how to choose the best WordPress plugin.
Here is our list of essential plugins you should install on your site immediately. All of them are free.
Features
- WPForms Lite – Allows you to add a contact form on your WordPress site. All professional websites display their contact information on the same page as their contact form. You can even accept payments using WPForms Lite without any additional setup.
- MonsterInsights – Connect your website with Google Analytics and see how visitors find and use your website, so you can keep them coming back.
- SeedProd – Drag and drop page builder for creating completely custom designs & layouts without any technical know-how.
Website Optimization
- All in One SEO – Improve your WordPress SEO and get more traffic from Google
- WP Super Cache – Free WordPress caching plugin that helps improve your website speed
- PushEngage – It helps increase website traffic by letting you connect with visitors after they leave your website. Push notifications are the top 5 traffic sources for WPBeginner.
Security
- Updraft Plus or Duplicator – Create automatic scheduled backups of your website
- Sucuri – Website security audit and malware scanner
Extras
- WP Simple Pay – for readily accepting credit card payments in WordPress.
- WooCommerce – create an eCommerce website with WordPress. It makes setting up an online store and selling physical products easily.
- MemberPress – makes it easy to create and sell online courses and digital memberships.
- Smash Balloon – makes it easy to add social media widgets for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
- OptinMonster – helps you get more email subscribers and optimize your website conversion rate with dynamic popups, modals, and other intelligent personalization features.
- HubSpot – add free live chat for providing customer support, email marketing for newsletters, and CRM to your WordPress website. Works seamlessly with OptinMonster.
- Uncanny Automator – helps you set up automated workflows to streamline your small business workflows and save time.
- WP Mail SMTP – fixes WordPress email deliverability issues with PHP Mail configurations on managed WordPress hosting providers.
- Envira Gallery Lite – Add beautiful image galleries to your WordPress site
Need help installing plugins? See our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
For more plugin recommendations, check out our list of must have WordPress plugins for business websites.
Step 7. Mastering WordPress
WordPress is easy to use but also an extremely powerful content management system. Occasionally, you may find yourself looking for some quick WordPress help.
The good news is that there are plenty of free WordPress help available. See our guide on how to properly ask for WordPress support and get it.
WPBeginner itself is the largest WordPress resource site on the internet. You will find the following resources on WPBeginner (all of them are entirely free).
- WPBeginner Blog – This is where we publish our WordPress tutorials, how-tos, and step-by-step guides.
- WPBeginner Videos – These step-by-step videos will help you learn WordPress FAST.
- WPBeginner on YouTube – Need more video instructions? Subscribe to our YouTube channel with more than 292,000 subscribers and 40 Million+ views.
- WPBeginner Dictionary – The best place for beginners to start and familiarize themselves with the WordPress lingo.
- WPBeginner Blueprint – Check out the plugins, tools, and services we use on WPBeginner to help grow our business online.
- WPBeginner Deals – Exclusive discounts on WordPress products and services for WPBeginner users.
- WPBeginner Engage Group – Connect with our WordPress experts and other like-minded website owners (over 94,000 members).
Here are a few of our guides that you should bookmark right away. It will save you lots of time and money in the future.
- Most common WordPress errors and how to fix them
- Beginner’s guide to troubleshooting WordPress errors
- How to fix common image issues in WordPress
- The ultimate WordPress security guide (step by step)
- Ultimate WordPress SEO guide for beginners (step by step)
If all of that is not enough, you can always take a look at our expert-picked list of blogs about WordPress you should read and follow.
Many of our users use Google search to find answers on WPBeginner. Simply type keywords for what you are looking for and add wpbeginner.com at the end.
Can’t find an answer? Send your question directly using our contact form, and we will try our best to answer.
Step 7. Taking it Further
So far, we have shown you how to make a WordPress website, add a new theme, add new web pages, and install essential plugins.
Want to take it even further?
Using WordPress, you can create powerful niche websites capable of doing much more.
- Add an eCommerce store
- Start your own podcast
- Create a membership Website
- Create a web directory
- Create a coupons website
- Build a reviews website
- Create multilingual websites
- Create a Job Board website
- Create a question and answers website
- Create a wiki knowledgebase website
For more examples, check out our list of 19 types of websites you can create with WordPress
Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)
Having helped thousands of people start a website, we have answered quite a lot of questions. Below are the answers to the most frequently asked questions about creating a website.
Is WordPress the only way to create a website?
No, there are a lot of other website builders out there such as Web.com, Wix, GoDaddy, etc. But we believe that WordPress is the best and easiest platform to build a website that works on both desktop and mobile devices.
Other industry experts agree with us, which is why over 43% of all websites use WordPress.
Can you build a website from scratch with WordPress?
Yes, you absolutely can use WordPress to build a completely custom website from scratch using a no-code drag & drop page builder plugin like SeedProd.
How Much Traffic Can WordPress Handle?
WordPress can handle virtually unlimited website traffic, depending on your hosting platform and caching setup. We have written a detailed guide on how much traffic WordPress can handle along with expert scaling tips.
How do I make money from my website?
After helping users create a website, this is by far the most commonly asked question. There are a lot of ways to make money online from your website.
We have a list of 30 ways to make money online using WordPress. These aren’t get rich quick schemes. If you’re looking for a way to get rich quick by making money online, then sorry to break the bad news, there’s no such way.
How do I start a website where I can sell products?
You can easily add an online store to your WordPress website. We have created a list of the best eCommerce plugins for WordPress. You can also follow our step-by-step guide on how to start an online store.
While there are many other eCommerce platforms like Shopify, BigCommerce, etc, we recommend using the WooCommerce plugin for WordPress.
It gives you more user-friendly features at an even more affordable price. This is why WooCommerce is the most popular eCommerce platform in the market.
If you’re looking to sell digital products, then we recommend using Easy Digital Downloads. This is what we use to sell our digital products in WordPress.
Do I need to know HTML / CSS to create and customize my website?
No you don’t need to know how to use HTML / CSS to build a website with WordPress. You can use one of the many drag & drop WordPress page builder plugins to easily customize your web design.
We recommend using SeedProd because it lets you create completely custom WordPress themes from scratch without any code.
How can I start a website for free?
Some website builders may offer free options, but we strongly recommend against using those website building solutions. Often they will insert their advertisements on your website which doesn’t look professional and offer a terrible user experience.
It’s always better to purchase your own domain name and hosting, so you have full ownership of your website. See what is the difference between domain name and web hosting.
Can I start a website like eBay?
Yes, you can easily create a website like eBay using an auction plugin for WordPress. We have a step by step guide on how to build an online auction website using WordPress that you can follow.
Can I get a free domain for my website?
Yes, some web hosting companies offer a free domain if you choose to start a website with them. Bluehost is an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider, and they’re offering WPBeginner users free domain + 60% off hosting if you choose to build your website using their service.
With that said, you can always register a domain name separately from a popular domain registrar and then purchase web hosting from a different hosting company like SiteGround or WP Engine.
Can I create a website like Facebook?
Yes, you can absolutely use WordPress to turn your website into a social network. We have a step by step guide on how to make a website like Facebook using WordPress.
Can I start a website with a discussion board / forum?
The answer again is yes. You can use one of these forum plugins in WordPress to build a website with discussion board features.
What’s the difference between WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org?
When we mention WordPress in our tutorial, we’re talking about the popular self-hosted WordPress.org platform. It’s the powerful open source software that you always hear about.
WordPress.com is a limited blog hosting service. They have recently expanded their platform to offer website and eCommerce plans with custom domains, but they’re far more expensive compared to other WordPress hosting services like Bluehost or SiteGround.
For more details, see our detailed comparison chart of WordPress.com vs WordPress.org.
I accidentally started my site with WordPress.com or another website builder, can I switch?
Yes, you can always switch your website to WordPress. Often times beginners make the mistake of using the wrong website builder and then realize that those platforms don’t have all the features they need.
We have written detailed tutorials on how to properly migrate from other website builders to WordPress. The most important part is to make sure that your permalinks (URL structure) moves over seamlessly, so you don’t lose SEO rankings.
Here are our detailed tutorials on how to move your website to WordPress:
- How to properly move from WordPress.com to WordPress.org
- How to move from Blogger to WordPress without losing rankings
- How to move from Wix to WordPress, step by step
- How to move from Weebly to WordPress (beginner’s guide)
- How to easily move from Medium to WordPress
- How to Properly Move from Squarespace to WordPress
How do I grow my online presence?
Now that you have created your new website, it’s time to to grow your online presence and get more traffic.
We have created an ultimate guide with over 27 actionable tips to drive traffic to your new WordPress site.
The most important advice we give to small business owners is to immediately start building an email list.
Email marketing allows you to stay in touch with website visitors and customers after they leave your website. It’s proven to have a 4300% ROI on investment.
Here is our comparison of the best email marketing services for small business.
We hope this guide helped you learn how to make a website without hiring a web designer or overspending money. You may also want to see our tutorial on how to create a professional business email address, and our comparison of the best business phone services for small business.
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Brandy Noles says
Thanks you have been so much help xoxo
WPBeginner Support says
Glad our guide was helpful!
Admin
Tushar Salvi says
Fantastic blog. Thank for sharing this wonderful website with us. I’ll share this blog with my colleagues. I’m sure this info will be useful to those who need it.
WPBeginner Support says
Thank you for your kind words and for sharing our site with others
Admin
Greg says
The woman who narrated the 27-minute How To video was the best I’ve ever heard. It was so clear, and so well paced that I was able to follow the Dodgers game at the same time.
I plan to start a travel blog with a ton of material that I have. Now I will go back over the video without the distraction of the baseball game, and get serious.
WPBeginner Support says
Glad you found our video helpful!
Admin
Amber says
Thank you for taking the time to create and share this video! I was feeling frustrated and believing that I was not going to be able to create my own website, but you walked me through the whole process. It became fun and easy instead of frustrating and scary.
Sincerely,
Amber
WPBeginner Support says
Glad our guide was helpful!
Admin
René says
Hello,
I do already have a domain and a hosting. But I want to create a new website i WP with same domain. It’s a small business web. I want to run my exiting site on-line until launch of the new with same domain. How do I do this ?
Rgds
René
WPBeginner Support says
For what it sounds like you’re wanting, we would recommend taking a look at our guide on how to create a staging site below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-create-staging-environment-for-a-wordpress-site/
Admin
Moses Kor says
Thank you Editorial team. My question is can one use WordPress on mobile phone to create a website?
WPBeginner Support says
Yes, you can create a WordPress site using a mobile phone. The reason most do not other than ease of typing is on mobile you would not be able to see how your site would be viewed on desktop devices.
Admin
Steven Baldwin says
First I would like to thank you for all your help. My question know is. once I have created a home page, about page and a blog, if I publish them so I can view them to make changes, add plug-ins, etc. can anyone else see them? Or would it be better to save them in draft?
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
If you publish the pages they will be visible on the internet, rather than leaving them in draft we would recommend setting up a coming soon page following our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/plugins/how-to-create-beautiful-coming-soon-pages-in-wordpress-with-seedprod/
Admin
Angela says
Thank you for this detailed article. The offer that’s linked on this page also has a 3 year upfront payment option. Would that include everything that thrown in for free for the 1st year as well such as domain name etc?
Christa Scheffer says
Thank you so much for this informative article. I’m a newbie to WordPress and your article just clearly explained a lot of the things I’ve been unclear about. I appreciate the time and effort you put in.
Cynthia Harden says
I thought “.org” was used solely for non-profits. If so, how can I include affiliate marketing on my site to at some point make some money? Do I need to use “.com” instead which you state is more limited? I am confused.
WPBeginner Support says
The org vs com in this case we are talking about the hosting of the website, not the domain name. For a better explanation of hosting vs domains, you would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/whats-the-difference-between-domain-name-and-web-hosting-explained/
Admin
Vanessa says
This article explains the steps really well. Thank you for this!
Last year I made my first and only website in WordPress, which I now want to change the content of.
I have chosen a theme and I also know how to create new pages.
But as soon as I install and activate a theme, it immediately takes over the content/information of my “old website”.
Is there a way to choose a new theme and completely rebuild each page?
Are there any useful tips for this or is there a guide or a video that explains this?
WPBeginner Support says
That is how themes work, they do not change your content. If you wanted to completely reset your site and remove all content you would want to follow our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-restart-a-wordpress-site-reset-wordpress-the-fast-way/
Admin
Radha says
How will other people be able to see this website? Only people with username and password will be able to see?
WPBeginner Support says
If someone visited your domain they would see the site but not have access to the editing tools. Logging into the site is what allows you to edit it.
Admin
Charles says
Could you recommend best plugin(s) or method(s) for having guest contributors write for your blog?
Thanks!!
WPBeginner Support says
You would want to take a look at our article below for more on that subject:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-allow-users-to-submit-posts-to-your-wordpress-site/
Admin
Robert says
I really thank you for this article. I have been looking for it so that I can start building a website with WordPress. I am sure this step by step guide will help me. Thank you for your hardwork.
WPBeginner Support says
Glad our guide could help
Admin
Abdul says
I have a blogspot Web site but I am thinking to move it to WordPress but I want all the content as it is in blogger and the website name as well is it possible? And thanks for the guide.
WPBeginner Support says
For transferring a site instead of creating a new one, you would want to take a look at our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-switch-from-blogger-to-wordpress-without-losing-google-rankings/
Admin
Lina says
Is this article explaining how to create a wordpress.com website or a wordpress.org website?
WPBeginner Support says
All of our guides are for WordPress.org sites.
Admin
obaid says
how to write custom css for separate pages.
i m trying to write some custom css but it applies on all pages like i m trying to change the color of header of my about us section but it changes rest of the pages solution.
WPBeginner Support says
You would want to use Inspect Element which we cover in our article below to add the page ID to your CSS and target the specific page/post ID.
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/basics-of-inspect-element-with-your-wordpress-site
Admin
Tayyab Shafique says
That was really helpful as I want to build a website (Portfolio Website).
This will help me.
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
Glad our guide was helpful
Admin
souad says
thank you very nice website article
WPBeginner Support says
Glad you found our guide helpful
Admin
Sophie says
Really impressed with how detailed you made this. It clarified so many things for me and I felt ready to make a website! Sadly when I went onto Bluehost, it does not offer .co.uk as a domain. Which other web host site would you recommend please? Many thanks
WPBeginner Support says
You may want to take a look at SiteGround for another option.
https://www.wpbeginner.com/deals/siteground-coupon/
Admin
Dan De Ment says
Can I use the WordPress Site Builder with WordPress.org on BlueHost
WPBeginner Support says
Yes, a site created on a host like BlueHost is a WordPress.org site.
Admin
Marlene says
Definitely interested to use WordPress.org for my small business, but with the free standard themes for all to use I might be using in a worst case scenario a theme that looks similar to my “competition”?
WPBeginner Support says
There are thousands of themes you can choose from and you can use page builders for further customization should you want to modify the design so there is a low chance of that.
Admin
Divya Bhatia says
is it necessary to first buy domain and hosting whatif if we want to create first website by installing wordpress, make it and at last i buy domain and hosting to run it
WPBeginner Support says
You can create a test installation by installing WordPress locally following our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/how-to-install-wordpress/#installlocal
Admin
michael salmon says
hello i have started my website but have encountered a problem on the mysite section on blue host.
after reading the wpbeginner in the settings tab i tried to change the http to https and also changed the wordpress address url
WPBeginner Support says
If you reach out to BlueHost they should be able to assist with your domain working correctly and ensuring you are pointing it to the correct location.
Admin
Hammed Raheem Owonifaari says
clear, concise and eruditely compelling !
Thanks so much !
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome
Admin
Noor says
Hi WPB,
I need some clarity. I have read your post about wordpress.org vs wordpress.com and choose to use wordpress.org as it seems to be the better of the two.
I just want to be sure here: this tutorial page is about the creation of a website on wordpress.com or wordpress.org?
Because I thought it was about a creation of a website on wordpress.org at the beginning. But I googled wordpress.org and on the website I found it says you have to install a software.
Looking forward to hear from you
Thanks
WPBeginner Support says
This guide is for installing a WordPress.org site
Admin
Lisa says
Hi
Such a great guide thank you. I’m looking at the blue host plans and I’m unsure of which one I need!! If I go for the basic plan can I upgrade it before the term is up?
WPBeginner Support says
Glad you found our guide helpful, you can upgrade your plan later
Admin
Ahsan Choudry says
Your article have too much information for beginners. You and your team doing great work for worldwide. I have expertise about how to create website,But after the reading of this article mine expertise change in concrete form.
You way of convey is outstanding. On every top you have bundle of content which is amazing for understanding what should i do and how to do.
Thanks a lot brother for this great virtue
WPBeginner Support says
Glad our article was helpful and we hope our content continues to be helpful
Admin
Abhinand says
I have a domain address. But when I changing the host site, can I also change the designing site to wordpress?
WPBeginner Support says
It seems like you’re slightly confused, you would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/whats-the-difference-between-domain-name-and-web-hosting-explained/
Admin
ashok pawar says
can i build a website like olx, swiggy, ola etc etc using worpress??
WPBeginner Support says
It may take some custom tools but you can create a site like thsoe with WordPress.
Admin
bilalroshan says
there is no “add new” button for new theme installation. i am beginner so i am using free wordepress.com . i want to install a new theme which i downloaded from another website. But i cant find “add new” button for theme installation.
plz help me.
thankyou
WPBeginner Support says
Our tutorials are for WordPress.org sites, you’re running into a WordPress.com limitation. You would want to take a look at our comparison article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/self-hosted-wordpress-org-vs-free-wordpress-com-infograph/
Admin
tali says
hello,
I am now working on an iPad pro. when I log in to wordpress I have to re enter each time my password even though I select « se souvenir de moi »
can you tell me why?
tali
WPBeginner Support says
You may want to ensure your cookies are not being cleared in your browser.
Admin
Adil Khan says
Great Bro and i like your article.
WPBeginner Support says
Thank you, glad you like our content
Admin
Eleonora says
Thank you for this article, it was super informative and helpful!
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad our guide was helpful
Admin
Tan says
is it reliable and secure to publish a website with a free WordPress theme?
WPBeginner Support says
Yes
Admin
siddhi says
I have domain name and hosting center of my own.How do i i skip bluehost and begin creating my website?
WPBeginner Support says
You would use the tools from your hosting provider to install WordPress and the steps would be the same afterward.
Admin
Julian Doesburg says
I have a logo and a new domain name and want to put together a simple website. As well, I’d like to create other websites on a professional level. Is WordPress the right choice for this?
WPBeginner Support says
We would recommend WordPress
Admin
Jean-Pierre Zacaropoulos says
My site has a fatal error.
There has been a critical error on your website. Please check your site admin email inbox for instructions.
I do not know where to go to check the email inbox.
WPBeginner Support says
To fix that error, you would want to take a look at our article below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/beginners-guide-to-troubleshooting-wordpress-errors-step-by-step/
Admin
eric says
see above where it says go to the cPanel and download wordpress. That doesn’t work and now i’ve paid money and seem to just be winging it without a clear and easy way to download wp
WPBeginner Support says
For our guide covering the new installation method, you may want to take a look at our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/start-a-wordpress-blog/
Admin
David Rotts says
Hi,
Great infos! Very helpful, thanks a lot!
I had a question: I have a website on WordPress that someone built for me 5 years ago, and its got a great SEO ranking. I now would like to modernize the website by myself, change the theme and some designs, without hurting the SEO ranking. How can I do that?
Thank you!
David
WPBeginner Support says
In general, changing the design of your site should not cause an issue with your SEO ranking but for your site’s SEO you would want to take a look at our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wordpress-seo/
Admin
micky Standard says
You give instructions on things that are useless. the whole internet repeats the same useless stuff: buy hosting from bluehost. What about people who already have a live website and want to switch to WordPress.
WPBeginner Support says
You would still require hosting, you would then follow either our guide on changing hosts to install WordPress on a new host:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-move-wordpress-to-a-new-host-or-server-with-no-downtime/
Another option would be to create a staging site to replace your active site:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-create-staging-environment-for-a-wordpress-site/
Admin
NaGS says
Really helpful. Can you also include how to start development site then move it to live site. Because newbies directly start live site and the dev site will appear in search results.
WPBeginner Support says
If you mean a staging site, we have a guide on how to set that up below you can take a look at:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-create-staging-environment-for-a-wordpress-site/
Admin
Saurabh says
Its very helpful guide. easy to understand and easy for revision for new learners!
WPBeginner Support says
Glad you found our guide helpful
Admin
Prasanth says
Hello, I had installed WordPress from Cpanel. But, i got the following error message, when i tried to login as admin.
Not Found
The requested URL /404.html was not found on this server.
Additionally, a 404 Not Found error was encountered while trying to use an ErrorDocument to handle the request.
Thanks in advance
WPBeginner Support says
You would likely want to check with your hosting provider or edit your .htaccess file using the method from our guide below:
https://www.wpbeginner.com/wp-tutorials/how-to-fix-wordpress-posts-returning-404-error/
Admin
daniel says
you people are the best very illustrative and helpful thanks a lot
WPBeginner Support says
You’re welcome, glad we could be helpful
Admin
K.B.nandam says
it is much clear than in textbooks
WPBeginner Support says
Glad you found our guide helpful
Admin
Jacob says
Absolutely very clear and seriously helpful.
WPBeginner Support says
Glad our guide was helpful
Admin
Omotoso Yusuf says
This article is just awesome. Top-Notch I should add.
WPBeginner Support says
Thank you, glad you liked our article
Admin
Eko Odinta says
Always on target for all things WordPress Design and development. I literally started out following tips from WPBeginner and they’ve done it again.
WPBeginner Support says
Thank you, glad you’ve found our content helpful
Admin
Mansoor says
It is very Awesome information. But, I have some queries regarding WordPress so how can I get help?
WPBeginner Support says
It would depend on the support you are looking for, you would want to take a look at our guide here: https://www.wpbeginner.com/beginners-guide/how-to-properly-ask-for-wordpress-support-and-get-it/
Admin