As the world’s most popular content management system, it’s estimated that over 30% of all websites are now built on WordPress. If you’re an inexperienced web developer who wants to build their first website, then WordPress is a great place to start!

However, WordPress isn’t all fun and games. You do need to make sure that you do a bit of research and learn about the platform and what it offers before you start, otherwise you will almost certainly run into problems. The following should help guide you through the basics of building your first WordPress website:

Choose between WordPress.org and WordPress.com

The first thing that you need to do when building a new website is choose which WordPress platform you want to use. WordPress.com lets you sign up and start building a website immediately. While it is certainly the simpler choice, it has a lot less flexibility and it can become a lot more expensive than WordPress.org.

This is because WordPress.org is basically software that allows you to host your own website. If you use WordPress.org, you will have to go through a lot more steps to get your site up and running, but you will have a lot more control over how you customise and design it. WordPress.org is definitely the better choice for anyone who wants to make money off their website.

The rest of this article will assume that you have chosen to use WordPress.org.

Choose a hosting provider & domain name

Before you can do anything, you need to choose a hosting provider and a domain name for your website. Make sure that you do some research and choose a hosting provider who offers at least 99% uptime and a dedicated resources. The team at Slinky Digital can make this process as smooth as possible.

Choosing a domain name should be relatively simple if you already know what your website is going to be called. Most hosting provider let you purchase a domain directly from their platform when you sign up with them.

Install WordPress on your domain

Once you’ve chosen a hosting provider and a domain you need to install the WordPress dashboard. A lot of hosting providers are starting to offer one-click installation, which make things easier for people building their first website. This is certainly another thing that you should consider when you’re choosing a hosting provider.

Find your way around the WordPress dashboard and start creating!

All that’s left to do now is to start exploring the WordPress dashboard and start building your website. It might take some time for you to get familiar with all the different features that WordPress offers, but it’s very beginner friendly and very easy to use. Choose a theme, install a few plugins and start adding content to your new website!

Congratulations – you’ve now started building your very first WordPress website!