How to use WordPress for beginners

WordPress is one of the most popular CMS systems in the world. WordPress allows you to create and manage a website. Still, using WordPress requires some technical knowledge to use the advanced features. Don’t panic. This complete guide will get you started on how to use the basics of WordPress. Let’s get started.

Why use WordPress?

WordPress is not the only CMS in the world. So why should you choose WordPress? We give you a few benefits:

1. User-friendly

With the Gutenberg editor, you can easily add different types of content to your site. Such as texts, videos, images and buttons. Do you want to customise a theme? You can change it easily via the so-called Customiser.

2. Flexible

You can design a unique website that suits your business. You can choose thousands of themes and plugins for your site.

3. Support

Over the years, many users and developers have emerged to help each other with problems. You can ask for support via the forums on the WordPress.org website.

4. Cost-effective

WordPress is open source. Anyone can download the software for free and customise it to their liking. You don’t need an expensive, custom-made website, but you can manage your site yourself to save costs.

How to use WordPress?

You must be wondering: how do I use WordPress? Below you can read more about the basics of WordPress. In 13 steps, you will create your WordPress website. Let’s get started!

1. Define your goal(s)

First of all, define your goal(s). What do you want to achieve with your website? You may want to be visible online. Or you want to boost sales by starting an online shop. By defining your goals as SMART, they become practical and achievable. In addition to your goal(s), determine who your target audience is. You can specify your website to the end user as much as possible. A persona will help you do this.

2. Buy WordPress hosting

If you want to use WordPress, you need hosting. You can download WordPress software for free, but you need a space connected to the internet to put your website online. So that’s hosting, a space on a server with all your website files.

WordPress hosting at one.com

At one.com, you can order WordPress hosting, hosting explicitly made for the cms. We offer various packages, but at a minimum, you will benefit from the following advantages:

• 1-click installation
• Free migration
• Performance Cache
• Custom themes
• Multiple databases
• 24/7 support
• Stable and fast hosting

Do you not want to worry about your WordPress website’s technical management and maintenance? Managed WordPress Hosting is for you.

3. Register a domain name

You will also need a domain name when you order WordPress hosting from one.com. A domain name consists of a name and a top-level domain and is your website’s unique address. A domain name allows visitors to reach your website.

Registering a domain name at one.com

At one.com, you can choose from more than 400 top-level domains, so you will always find a domain that suits your business. In addition, you can create unlimited subdomains, so each project has its address.

Coming up with a domain name

Before registering a domain name, it is essential to think carefully about which name you will use. Make sure you choose a domain name that is short, recognisable and easy to remember. Also, the domain should match your business. For example, select your company name or a word that suits your business. You can find more ideas in our article on tips for finding the right domain name.

4. Install WordPress

Have you bought hosting and a domain name? It is time to install WordPress. You can do this in 2 ways using the guides below:

1. Install WordPress in 1 click
2. Install WordPress manually

5. Get to know WordPress

Congratulations, you have successfully installed WordPress. When you log into WordPress for the first time, you will be taken to the Dashboard. This is the cockpit of your website. From here, you navigate to other parts of the Admin environment. On the left, you will see a menu with the following shortcuts:

1. Posts

In Posts, you create and manage the articles on your website.

2. Media

In Media, you manage all the media on your website, such as images and videos. It is a helpful overview of all media, but you can add and manage media directly in posts and on pages.

3. Pages

In Pages, you create and manage the pages on your website.

4. Comments

In Comments, you will find all the reactions visitors, yourself and possibly other users have left on your website. You can also manage the comments here.

5. Appearance

In Appearance, you will find the theme you are using. You can customise the theme via the Customiser.

6. Plugins

In Plugins, you will find an overview of all additional functionalities on your site. You can add new plugins and remove (unused) ones. (We will tell you more about plugins later in the article.)

7. Users

In Users, you manage all the users of your website. Users can have various roles, such as editor or author.

8. Settings

Under Settings, you determine all the settings of your website.

The one.com plugin

Besides the above items, you may see other shortcuts in the menu. For example, the one.com plugin. Thanks to this plugin, you get access to the following:

• The one.com themes;
• All one.com plugins;
• A list of recommended plugins.

6. Put your website in maintenance mode

Before you start working on your website, you want to ensure your site is not visible to visitors. After all, you are building it. It is best to put your site in maintenance mode via a WordPress plugin to quietly set up your website behind the scenes while visitors see a standard page.

Plugins to put your site in maintenance mode:

• WP Maintenance Mode & Coming Soon
• Maintenance
• Coming Soon Page, Maintenance Mode & Landing Pages by SeedProd
• Minimal Coming Soon – Coming Soon Page

7. Set the settings

When you first use WordPress, the default settings are active. However, you can set the settings to your liking. To go to the settings, follow these steps:

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Settings’.

General

Under General, enter your site title and slogan. Make sure the WordPress and site address are your domain name. In this section, you can also set the site language, time zone, date and time format, and week.

Writing

In this section, you set the default message category and format. You can also select how to add messages via email and which services should be notified when you publish a new message.

Reading

Under Reading, choose whether you want the homepage to show your latest posts or a static page. You can also set up if you wish to show the full text or a summary of your posts on the homepage. Finally, you can set here whether your website should be (in)visible for search engines.

Discussion

Under Discussion, you enable or disable trackbacks and pingbacks. You also set the reaction options for users and can choose avatars. An avatar is an image of a visitor leaving a comment.

Media

In this section, you set the image sizes of thumbnails, medium and large sizes. You can often leave these settings as they are.

Permalinks

Permalinks define the URL structure of your website. Within WordPress, you have several options at your disposal. We recommend choosing ‘Post name’. You can select the other options, but these are not optimal for SEO.

Privacy

Finally, under Privacy, you can create a privacy policy. A privacy policy is essential to comply with (inter)national legislation. WordPress provides a privacy policy, but you must use it correctly.

8. Choose a WordPress theme

Now the settings are in place, let’s define the look of your website with a theme. A WordPress theme is a design that defines the look of your website. Each theme contains its style and features.

In the Theme Directory of WordPress, you will find thousands of free themes you can use to build a professional website. These themes are suitable if you want to set up a basic website. On the page, you can filter by specific features, such as a 2-column layout or themes explicitly built for blogs. Are you seeking a flexible theme with multiple WordPress templates, personal support and regular updates? Choose a paid theme. You can find paid themes on ThemeForest, for example.

Popular WordPress themes

• Astra
• OceanWP
• Divi
• Neve
• GeneratePress
• Avada
• The7
• X

Tip: Discover more good WordPress themes for your website.

Installing a WordPress theme

You can install a WordPress theme on your WordPress installation via the steps below.

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Appearance’.
3. Click on ‘Themes’.
4. Click on ‘Add new’.
5. Choose a theme of your choice and click ‘Install’.
6. Click ‘Activate’ to use the theme.

Do you want to install an externally downloaded theme? Click on ‘Upload Theme’ on the theme page.

Customising the WordPress theme

After you have installed the WordPress theme, you can customise it to your taste. You do this via ‘Appearance’ > ‘Customise’. Which options you have depends on the theme you have chosen. If you prefer to design the website entirely, you can look for a drag-and-drop website builder like Elementor Website Builder or Beaver Builder. You add a website builder to your website as a WordPress plugin.

9. Install WordPress plugins

WordPress comes with several features by default. Yet sometimes you want to add extra features to your website, such as a contact form, social media buttons and good security. This is where plugins come in. WordPress plugins are pieces of software that allow you to add valuable features to your site. Via the Plugin Directory, you can find thousands of plugins, each with its functions. Or, for paid plugins, take a look at CodeCanyon.

Popular WordPress plugins

• RankMath to improve your SEO
• WooCommerce to create an online shop
• Redirection to create 301 redirects
• Contact Form 7 to add contact forms
• Akismet Spam Protection to protect your website from spam responses
• Wordfence Security to protect your website from malicious people
• Imagify to compress images

Tip: Check out more good WordPress plugins for your website.

Installing a WordPress plugin

Do you want to use WordPress plugins for your website? Here’s how to install them:

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Plugins’.
3. Click on ‘Add new’.
4. Choose a plugin of your choice and click ‘Install now’.
5. Click ‘Activate’ to use the plugin.

10. Create pages

Now the basics are in place, you can create pages. Every website has some basic pages with information about your business, for example, a:

• Home page;
• Contact page;
• About us page;
• Privacy policy;
• General terms and conditions.

Creating a page

You can easily create one or more pages in WordPress using the steps below.

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Pages’.
3. Click on ‘Add new’.
4. Add the content you want on the page.
5. Click ‘Publish’ to put the page live. Or choose ‘Save draft’ to publish the page later.

WordPress Patterns

WordPress works with a block editor called Gutenberg. Gutenberg allows you to use blocks to create a post or page. To give you a hand with designing those blocks, Patterns have been introduced. Patterns are ready-made blocks you copy and paste into the desired place. So you don’t have to design them yourself.

11. Add widgets and menus

You can put widgets and menus in the header (the top of your website), the footer (the bottom of your website) and the sidebar (the sidebar of your website). A widget is a piece of software with a specific function. Standard widgets within WordPress are available, but a theme or plugin can offer additional widgets. For example, widgets can display a calendar, archive, image or menu.

Adding widgets

Use the steps below to add widgets in your website’s header, footer or sidebar:

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Appearance’.
3. Click on ‘Widgets’.
4. Choose the widgets you want to add and customise them to your liking.
5. Click ‘Update’ to put the widgets live.

Adding one or more menus

A menu allows visitors to navigate to the most essential pages of your website quickly. You add a menu in the header and often in the footer of your website. This is how to create a menu:

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Appearance’.
3. Click on ‘Menus’.
4. Name your menu.
5. Click on ‘Create menu’.
6. Add the most important pages to the menu.
7. Choose the location and click ‘Save menu’.

12. Create posts

Are you planning to start a WordPress blog alongside your website? You can create posts. Posts are separate from pages, giving you a better overview of the content.

Posts help you get a good SEO position in search engines like Google, so your target audience can find you better. Before you start writing, it is wise to do keyword research. With keyword research, you know what your target audience is looking for, so you can create content for them. Do you need help? An SEO tool like Marketgoo is your solution. You can easily install the tool via your Control Panel if you are a one.com customer.

Creating a post

Do you want to get started with posts? Follow the steps below to create a post:

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Posts’.
3. Click on ‘Add new’.
4. Add the content you want in the post.
5. Click ‘Publish’ to put the post live. Or choose ‘Save draft’ to publish the post later.

Categories and tags

You can use WordPress categories and WordPress tags to organise your posts in WordPress. Both features make it easy for visitors to find information about the same topic on your website. For example, do you publish recipes on your website? You can categorise the recipes as ‘breakfast’, ‘lunch’, et cetera. Tags can be used, for instance, to cluster recipes that contain the same ingredient, such as ‘eggs’ or ‘wheat flour’.

13. Publish your WordPress website

Are you happy with your WordPress website? You can uninstall the maintenance mode plugin and show your website to your visitors. Are you now done with your website? The answer is no. Creating and maintaining a website is a continuous process of adjustment and improvement. For instance, you should update your WordPress website regularly. This will allow you to benefit from new features and keep your website more secure.

This is how to update your WordPress website:

1. Log into your WordPress installation.
2. In the Dashboard menu on the left, go to ‘Dashboard’.
3. Click on ‘Updates’.
4. Check if you need to update the WordPress version, a theme or a plugin.
5. Click the button to update the component.

Note: Back up your website before you update anything. Does something go wrong? You can always restore the latest version.

Optimise your WordPress website

Besides regularly updating your WordPress website, you need to take measures to keep your website up to speed, secure and SEO-ready. WordPress plugins like Wordfence Security, RankMath and WP Optimize will help you optimise your website.

Tip: Read our article to make your WordPress website faster

Conclusion

Congratulations, you have been introduced to the basics of WordPress. Understanding WordPress is a learning process, but this article has got you on your way to learning how to use it. Do you want to know more about the CMS? You’ll find helpful WordPress articles on our Academy to set up a successful WordPress website. Good luck!