Whether you are a technology guru or not, this is not so important nowadays. If you decide to share knowledge in your niche with the world, the blog format is trendy and, most importantly, an easy way to declare yourself to the world. And the most widespread and free CMS – WordPress – will help you with implementing your idea.
It is worth emphasizing that it is free due to distribution under an open license agreement, which allows using the product even for your commercial purposes. However, it is impossible to do without costs completely.
After all, as for the functionality and external customization, there are both paid and free options, and it all depends on how effective you want to make your website. You should also purchase a domain name and hosting separately. But first things first.
Placement of the Website on the Internet
So, you’d ask, why do I need a domain and hosting if there is WordPress? Let’s say you’ve created a website, but how will others see it? That is where you need a domain, which is the name of your site people enter into their browser’s address bar to find it. Hosting is where your site is located.
You can choose a domain and hosting based on your budget. Just note that for understanding how things work and for non-commercial purposes, you can use the free hosting wordpress.com. Otherwise, you will need paid hosting, and the appropriate specialists will help you register the domain.
After purchasing hosting and registering a domain name, you need to install WordPress. At best, your hosting provider has taken care of the pre-installed CMS. But if your hosting does not have the engine installed, follow the instructions.
First, go to your hosting control panel and click on the WordPress icon. Download and unzip the archive from WordPress, then create a blog database using your hosting provider’s database connection information. Fill in all the required fields, including the blog name, username, and password, and voila – your URL opens on a blank but already existing site.
And now you have to do the most interesting thing – choose website design and appearance. WordPress templates are responsible for the look and functionality of your resource. You can change your template by going to the Appearance and Themes page. If you are just getting started with WP, you can safely choose a free template from the official directory without fear of complying with security and technical standards. When choosing a paid theme, you can target themes from community-approved WordPress developers.
Quality Content as a Mandatory Attribute for a WordPress Site
Well, your site is launched, design – chosen, now is the time to think about why this very site has actually been created – its content. Regarding posting mechanics, everything is simple – click on Posts and Add New. You will see an editor field where you can enter your text. Once you’re done with writing, click on the Publish button to reveal your post to the world. On the post screen, you will also see some additional sections like Categories and Tags. You can use these sections to organize your posts.
And what should you write about in your posts? Of course, you probably have some general ideas, but how to cater to every visitor’s interests to your blog? Firstly, you should subtly feel or find out more about your blog’s target audience, their interests and problems, and why it will be useful for them to read about your experience and thoughts.
It will also be helpful to build the semantic core of your blog. It is essential to understand here that people’s key queries may be related not so much to the product as to the issues that concern them. This might be tips, recommendations for choice, discussion of the characteristics of an activity, product, or service – the main thing is to remember the importance of adding keywords, correctly filled titles, and description fields, which will help your site rise in the search.
To Sum It Up
WordPress offers almost unlimited possibilities in terms of your website’s topic – it can be a personal blog, portfolio, online store, and so on. Basic knowledge will be enough for you to fill a WordPress site, work with publications, media, or comments. Suppose you want to understand all the functionality and design features and make the content of your site readable and SEO-friendly. In that case, you may need the relevant specialists’ help or some time to research how the sites work.