Today I am going to walk you through the whole experience of building a website with WordPress. If you aren’t particularly tech savvy or just have no experience with building websites than you are in the right place.
Let’s get started.
You will need:
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A domain name
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Hosting
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A little bit of time to work on your site.
Will building my website cost me money?
The answer is maybe. How much you want to spend is up to you. ASPnix has a free Linux hosting option if you just want to practice, learn or get started making websites. This is a great option that gives you a chance to try something new without costing you anything. This is especially for people who are just dipping their toes in the web design pond. It can always be upgraded if you realize at some point down the road that you want to do a lot more than just the basics.
My suggestion is to spend less at first. A lot of places will try to sell you a stack of crazy addons and stuff that you wont ever need.
Will WordPress cost me money?
Nope. It’s open source. That means anyone can use it and nobody has to pay for it. Everyone from teenage bloggers to huge companies like Sony, Microsoft, and Disney use it for their websites every day.
Step One: Hosting Service
First we need a place to put our website. As mentioned before, there are various ways to do this. Most of which cost a small amount of money. If you are just starting out look at a cheap or free solution. ASPnix has a $5 per month option, a $50 a year option or a FREE option on Linux hosting. Pick whatever makes sense for your needs and your budget.
Click Order when you have decided on an option.
Step Two: Getting a Domain Name
If you already have one, you can connect it to your new hosting service for free. Go right ahead and skip this part.
On the other hand, if you don’t already have a domain name than you might want to spend a couple dollars to buy one to get started. A domain name is the way people will find your site. Try to get one that is easy to remember and isn’t already taken. Different domain names have different prices ranging from a few dollars up to $20 or $30 sometimes. Again, pick whats right for you.
Afterwards, finalize the process. Check out and pay if you bought anything.
In the image below I chose to buy a domain name for $20.00 for 1 year.
Step 3: WordPress Installation
After you log in to your account for the first time, you will see the client area. This is the very first screen you will see.
As you can see, there is still one more step. For security purposes you need to open your email and verify yourself. Afterwards comes installing WordPress.
WordPress is software intended to make your website building experience quick and easy. It was originally designed to help bloggers build attractive websites quickly with minimal frustration. Installing WordPress is actually the easiest part of this tutorial.
Below is a tutorial video of WordPress being fully installed in 1 minute and 10 seconds flat.
That’s it. Welcome to your new home on the internet.
