Creating a WordPress website does not have to be expensive. In fact, with the correct tools and resources, you can create a functioning and professional-looking website for free, and be able to establish an online presence for personal blogs, portfolios, small enterprises, or any other project you can think of. WordPress is a flexible and user-friendly platform that powers millions of websites worldwide. This article explains how to create a WordPress website for free.
Reasons to Choose WordPress for Your Website Creation
1). Unmatched Flexibility
WordPress empowers you to create websites tailored to your specific requirements, be it a personal blog, an online store, or a corporate website. Its extensive plugin library enhances website functionality with features like contact forms, social media integration, and e-commerce capabilities, all accessible with a few simple clicks.
2). Market Dominance
According to statistics, an astounding 43% of websites worldwide rely on WordPress, including those without CMS or custom-coded CMS solutions.
3). Exceptional User Experience
WordPress is renowned for its user-friendliness. Its intuitive interface and seamless navigation make it accessible to both beginners and experienced webmasters.
Key Advantages of WordPress
✔Outstanding Market Dominance
WordPress dominates the Content Management System (CMS) market. This extensive use reflects its extraordinary skills and enduring popularity among website creators and users alike.
✔Power of Open Source
WordPress, as an open-source platform, gives users the freedom to customize and change their websites to meet their requirements. This flexibility allows for limitless customization choices, allowing businesses to build unique online experiences that are tailored to their target customers.
✔Limitless Customisation Possibilities
WordPress’s large library of themes and plugins allows for unmatched customization. Themes are pre-built templates that establish a website’s general visual design, whereas plugins enhance its functionality with specialized features. This combination allows customers to customize all aspects of their website, from look to functionality.
✔SEO Expertise for Better Visibility
WordPress is well-known for its complex Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) features. It easily incorporates features that optimize websites for search engines, increasing their visibility and accessibility to users. WordPress enables businesses to obtain higher positions in search results, increasing website traffic and reaching a larger audience.
✔Centralized control for smooth management.
WordPress includes a centralized dashboard that acts as a command center for controlling all parts of a website, including content generation and user management. This user-friendly interface boosts website administration by allowing users to easily update and modify content, saving important time and improving operations.
✔Steadfast Security and Reliability
WordPress prioritizes security and reliability, protecting websites from potential dangers. Regular updates and fixes protect the platform’s security and robustness. Furthermore, WordPress provides a variety of security plugins that improve website protection, giving customers peace of mind and protecting their online assets.
Simple Steps to Create a Free Website for Beginners
So it’s time to walk you through the process of creating a free WordPress website step by step.
Step 1: Choose a platform.
WordPress.com and WordPress.org are the two options accessible. WordPress.com provides a free plan with limited functionality and a WordPress domain (such as yoursite.wordpress.com). WordPress.org offers open-source software that can be installed on your hosting, giving you more flexibility and control over your site.
Step 2: Register for an account.
Visit WordPress.com and sign up for a free account. To establish an account, you will need to give an email address, a username, and a password. After you’ve joined up, you can select a domain name for your website (such as yourname.wordpress.com).
Step 3: Choose an Impactful Domain Name
Your domain name is the cornerstone of your online presence, operating as the primary address for your website. Consider the following critical criteria to create an unforgettable and significant domain:
a). Relevance
Make sure your domain name matches the nature and purpose of your website. This allows users to quickly identify your site’s emphasis without having to guess.
b). Memorability
Choose a domain name that is easy to pronounce. Avoid employing difficult-to-remember words or combinations.
c). Brand Alignment
If you have a well-established brand or business, consider utilizing your brand name as the domain. This improves brand identification and ensures consistency across all of your internet platforms.
d). Future growth
Plan for the potential growth and progress of your website. Avoid confining your domain to a single specialty or topic to allow for future expansion.
Step 4: Obtain Web Hosting for WordPress.org
If you choose WordPress.org, you must ensure that your web hosting is stable. Web hosting companies provide physical servers where your website’s files are stored, ensuring that they are available to users globally. There are numerous providers, each with different features and prices:
▪️Bluehost
A beginner-friendly service with low-cost options and an emphasis on WordPress-specific optimization.
▪️SiteGround
SiteGround is well-known for its high-performance and dedicated WordPress hosting options.
▪️HostGator
Provides a variety of low-cost hosting solutions as well as an easy-to-use control panel.
Step 5: WordPress Installation
Installing WordPress on your web hosting is usually a simple process.
*Single-Click Installation
Most hosting providers give a simple one-click WordPress installation option. Simply follow your provider’s instructions to complete the installation.
*Manual Installation
If your hosting provider does not support one-click installation, you can install WordPress manually by downloading the software from the official WordPress website and uploading it to your hosting account.
Step 6: Choose a visually appealing theme
WordPress offers a large number of themes to change the look and feel of your website. Themes are pre-built templates that provide a customizable framework for customizing your website.
*Free Theme Options
WordPress.com has a large selection of free themes, however WordPress.org has a far greater collection of free and paid themes.
*Theme Browsing
In your WordPress dashboard, go to “Appearance” > “Themes” to preview and install themes.
*Consider Functionality
While aesthetics are crucial, make sure the theme you chose meets your website’s practical requirements, such as plugin compatibility and responsiveness across several devices.
Step 7: Customizing Your Website
Customize the style and layout of your website to genuinely make it distinctive.
*WordPress Customizer
WordPress has a user-friendly interface called the Customizer, which allows you to change many features of your theme, such as colors, fonts, and widgets.
*Theme Settings
Some themes include additional customization options via their own specialized settings panels.
*Plugin Enhancements
Install plugins to improve the functionality and design of your website, such as page builders or image optimizers.
Step 8: Add Website’s Content
WordPress offers two foundational content types: posts and pages. Posts are employed for blogging purposes and are displayed chronologically, with recent entries appearing first.
Conversely, pages are intended for static, one-time content like your About page, Contact page, Privacy Policy, special landing pages, and so on.
By default, WordPress showcases a stream of blog posts on your website’s home page. You can modify this by designating any static page as your website’s home page.
Alternatively, you can establish a dedicated page for your blog or news section to display your latest posts. You can even create a website without including a blog section.
Adding Content to Your Website
*Creating Pages
1. Begin by adding pages to your WordPress site. Don’t fret if you don’t have substantial content yet. You can always edit and update your pages later.
2. Navigate to Pages » Add New in the WordPress admin interface. This will open the page editor, which resembles the following:
3. Assign a title to your page.
4. Fill in the text editor with your page content. Utilize text, hyperlinks, images, embedded media, and other elements.
5. Once your page’s content is complete, click the Publish button to make it live on your website.
*Creating Blog Posts
1. Proceed to Posts » Add New in the WordPress admin area. You will encounter a screen similar to the one used for adding pages.
2. Enter a title and content for your blog post using the visual editor.
3. Take note of additional options in the sidebar, such as post formats, categories, and tags.
4. Click Save Draft to store your post as a draft or Publish/Update to make it visible on your website.
Step 9: Add Essential Plugins
When it comes to your WordPress site, installing plugins is crucial. These plugins act as apps, adding various features and customizations to enhance your site. From contact forms to photo galleries, the possibilities are endless.
To install plugins, simply navigate to your WordPress dashboard and click on the Plugins page. With over 59,000 free plugins available for WordPress, the options are vast. Additionally, there are paid plugins offered by third-party websites and developers.
But with so many plugins to choose from, how do you know which ones to install? Don’t worry, we have you covered.
To get you started, here is a list of essential plugins that you should install immediately. Best of all, each one is free to use.
Features:
– WPForms Lite
Easily add a contact form to your site and even accept payments without any additional setup.
– MonsterInsights
Connect your site with Google Analytics to track visitor behavior and improve user experience.
– SeedProd
Create custom designs and layouts with this drag-and-drop page builder.
Website Optimization:
– All-in-One SEO
Improve your WordPress SEO to drive more traffic to your site.
– WP Super Cache
Improve website speed with this free caching plugin.
– PushEngage
Increase website traffic by connecting with visitors through push notifications.
Security:
– Duplicator
Create automatic backups of your site to ensure its safety.
– Sucuri
Conduct website security audits and malware scans to protect your site from threats.
Extras:
– WP Simple Pay
Accept credit card payments easily.
– WooCommerce
Set up an e-commerce website effortlessly.
– MemberPress
Create and sell online courses and memberships.
– Smash Balloon
Add social media widgets for Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube.
– OptinMonster
Increase email subscribers and optimize website conversion rates.
– HubSpot
Add live chat, email marketing, and CRM functionality to your site.
– Uncanny Automator
Streamline small business workflows with automated workflows.
– WP Mail SMTP
Fix email deliverability issues with this plugin.
– Envira Gallery Lite
Improve your site with beautiful image galleries.
Step 10: Optimize for SEO.
Optimizing your website for SEO will increase its visibility in search engine results. Use Yoast SEO plugins to optimize individual pages and articles for keywords, meta descriptions, and readability.
Step 11: Launch your website.
It’s time to launch your site after customizing it, adding content, and optimizing it for SEO! Share your website with friends, and family, and on social media to begin attracting visitors.
Step 12: Maintain and update regularly.
Regularly update WordPress, themes, and plugins to keep your site secure and functional. To avoid data loss, make regular backups of your website.
Conclusion
WordPress is an excellent alternative for website development due to its user-friendly interface, customization choices, SEO advantages, community support, and scalability. Whether you’re a newbie or an experienced web developer, make use of WordPress’s features and create a website that is customized for your specific requirements.
