Learning how to create a website on wordpress can increase your chances of having a successful website.
Hi everyone and thank you for being here! I take it that you at least took a look at my WordPress For Website-Part1 post.
Just to give you a little backstory I created this website to help other people learn how to create professional looking websites using WordPress.
I also go over the different reviews on the domain, hosting, and everything there is to know about creating a website.
I have been creating websites since 2011, along with learning various programming languages like C# and HTML.
However, my main studies are Information technology related to networking, apps and devices, database analysis, system analysis etc.
WordPress
OK, so the reason I want to jump into this is so that you can have a better understanding of where to start building your site.
If you started with the dashboard that wasn’t going to really motivate you because you’re just looking at the menu and trying to discover where to start.
This post is going to give you basics of how to begin your site using WordPress. OK so let’s get started.
About the Dashboard on WordPress
So when you first get into the WordPress platform your going to notice panel similar to the picture on the bottom of this post.
This is considered your DASHBOARD. There will be a list of different menus such as All in One SEO, Post, Pages, Media Comments etc.
Now some dashboards vary from others depending on what kind of plugins you installed for your website.
There is a ton of plugins out there and they all have different features to that will extend the functionality of your site.
I am not going to talk about the All in One SEO that you see because that’s considered a plugin.
Had I not added it then it wouldn’t have been a part of the menu. However, I will be covering SEO in a future post so make sure you stay tuned!
Posts
Usually, on your dashboard, you will start with your post.
When you create content for your post they are meant to be organized a little differently than pages so don’t get them confused.
A post is meant to be constant and they appear in chronical order. When I first started using WordPress I had them all mixed up and I probably still do now haha! :).
On a post, you show more interaction with the readers as they comment on your website and share their feedback.
A page is more static doesn’t really have any type of interaction with the readers. I personally don’t mind if people comment on my pages or post, however, everyone is different.
Remember it’s your website so you can customize it to your liking. Also, when you differentiate your content posts to your pages you can track them better and see how many posts you have written let’s say within the past 6 months.
In any event, a post is where you write content to share with others. Over at the bottom of your posts, you have added new, categories, and tags.
- Add new – This is when you’re going to be adding new content to your site. You’re going to want to have a title, your body, what media you would like to add to your website etc.
- Categories– This will help you categorize your post so readers can identify what subject your post is related too. “I honestly didn’t even use this” mine said uncategorized until recently.
- Tags– Tags are used for specific keywords in a post along with their categories. “I don’t use this either” Some menus your probably not even going to look at.
Media
- Media– Whenever you add any type of photo or video to your site it automatically stores it in a file, almost like a photo library.
- This will allow you to go back and reference any of the pictures you used. I use this when I am adding pictures or videos to my post. I usually don’t use the same picture more than once.
Pages
- Pages– This is where you are going to set up your static pages such as your about me, contact us, privacy policy, etc. There is no or very little interaction on these pages. I personally don’t mind the like interactions on any pages except for my privacy policy.
Comments

- Comments– This is where you’re going to engage with your readers, respond to their post and reply to their feedback.
- This is important to do because the more interaction you have with your readers the more interested people become in knowing more about your products or services.
- That will, in turn, create more traffic for you in the future.
Appearance
There are a few menus under the appearance bar on your dashboard such as themes, customize, widgets etc.so let’s go over them.
- Themes– Themes are different WordPress templates that you can choose to create the appearance of your website. There are hundreds of different themes to suit your style. Many of these WordPress themes are free and some you can use for a fee.
- Customize– This is where you’re going to customize the appearance of your site whether it’s your background color, picture along with the wording of your site and much more.
- Widgets– Widgets are going to add additional personality to your site. You can customize widgets to show social media icons, custom pages, music, advertising and more. Widgets normally appear in the footer or side of your website. It’s easy and catches your readers attention.
- Menus– This is where you’re going to manage your menus, edit and rearrange for your website. I gave a brief description on how to accomplish this in part 1
- Background– Here you will be able to change the background of your site with any picture, colors, or video. I normally leave it blank because it’s easy for people to read. It also gives a more professional appearance.
- Editor– This is when you want to go beyond the scope of your theme. I wouldn’t recommend you mess with this unless you are fluent in the programming language to make modifications. The main programming language used on WordPress is PHP *HypertextPreprocessor*. If it’s necessary for you to do so then create a child theme so you don’t jeopardize your site’s content.
Plugins
- Plugins– Plugins is software created by coders and written in the PHP programming language. Plugins enhance your site appearance and extend the functionality of your website.
Note: More than 5 plugins can slow down your sites upload and download speed so try to keep this to a minimum.
Users
Users– With this menu, you can add users to your WordPress to allow for editing. Users have full control of your site so keep that in mind when considering adding someone as a user.
Note: If you want to do this right you can’t cut corners there is a lot of information on this website and more to come. This is information that I have learned and that helped me so I can help you.
Tools
Import– The point of the tools’ menu is to import and export your files from WordPress for example:. The import option gives you the ability to import your saved website and add it to a new or an existing site.
Export–This is used when your trying to save your files from your website on to your computer. So your basically exporting your pages, post, comments, custom fields and category etc similar to the import tool. You will have the option to decide what you want to export if you want to do all content or certain posts, pages, contact forms media etc.
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Settings
Under your settings tab, you have general, writing, reading, discussion, media, and permalinks.
General– When you get to the general tab your going to see where you can customize your website’s name, your email address, the start of the week, time format and date format. I usually tend to leave this alone unless I need to change my title and email address.
Writing– This is when you want to change the writing format on your post. “I tend to leave this alone as well”.
Note: If you need more information on WordPress or if there is something I didn’t cover that you would like the answer to you can go to WordPress.org
Reading– With the reading setting, it’ll allow you to customize your homepage as well as how many blog pages you want to view.
Discussion– In your discussion settings you are able to customize what readers should fill in to be able to post a comment on your website. I normally do the name and email.
This is good for collecting email addresses so you can utilize them at a later time for marketing if that’s what you’re going for. You can also allow someone to post comments without your review.
I personally would like to see what people say before it’s posted on my site.
You will have people that will comment negatively just because. Luckily I never had that happen but you never know.
Media– The media setting is going to allow you to change your picture size. I normally just click on the picture and change the size with my mouse.
Permalinks–These are permanent URL links to incorporate into your website. “I don’t use this”
WordPress website builder
Now I know that this can be overwhelming and a lot of information but honestly you really don’t need to touch the SETTINGS for anything.
Another menu that you might not need is the USER setting unless you want someone to manage your website for you or allow to edit.
The most your going to use is the first five starting from the top.
There are many website builders that have the WordPress platform, here are the most common ones.
Easiest Way To Build A Website-Using SiteRubix
The easiest way that I find to build a website is through the SiteRubix platform through Wealthy Affiliate which is what I use to create my sites.
There is a step by step guide for those of you who are starting out. If you’re a person that is not technically savvy with creating websites that would be my recommendation to you.
But you can use any site builder it’s your choice or whatever is easier for you.
From my experience when I first used WordPress I connected with Blue Host.
I also connected with WP directly. Neither one really worked for me due to the lack of support I was getting.
It ended up taking a lof it time and nothing accomplished which then led to me experimenting with different platforms such as Wix and Webstarts.
However, I am glad that I was able to discover different ways on how to customize and create my site.
Step 1:
Log into your website through you Wealthy Affiliate account
Step 2: Update your plugins
Step 3: Remove all your default pages and comments
I briefly described these steps on my WordPress part 1
Getting Started With WordPress
Here is a video of your just going to get started using the WP platform.
Many of the WordPress Tutorials that I found were no less than 30 minutes, some of them go up to 3 hours.
Conclusion
The way that the world is revolving around the internet nowadays is why I decided to create an online business for myself. Not only that but by doing so I was able to network with a lot more people and gain trust.
This established a good relationship with my clients. Building a website has a lot of elements that are composed together, it all depends on what you’re trying to accomplish. There are platforms that are easier than others so you always have options.
I really hope you enjoyed reading this article and don’t forget to comment below.
Very easy walk throughs. The reminder half way through to keep going was a bit refreshing 🙂
This was very thorough and easy to understand. Thanks for your sharing your skills!
Thank you Matt 🙂 for reading
This is great i use wordpress myself this will help me out a lot.
Thank you
Thank you, Travis, glad this is helpful for you.
Hi Viviana,
Great walk through! It’s really nice to hear another’s perspective on everything. I’m glad I’m a WA member because they make the training so easy for us newbies with absolutely no knowledge of website building. Your breakdown is going to be very helpful.
Thanks,
Suzanne
Great information that is easy to read and understand! Brought a couple of things to my attention that I need to change within my dashboard! Thank you!
Awesome Joseph glad you enjoyed it. 🙂