If you’re looking to create an engaging and professional WordPress blog, WP Maker’s easy-to-follow, ten-step guide is just the tool you need. Switching from Namehero to Chemicloud for hosting due to increased cost efficiency, the guide covers every aspect required to set up your blog, from securing fast hosting and a website name to designing headers and footers.
But there’s more! The video tutorial also shows how to make your blog visually appealing and user-friendly, with steps to import designs, manipulate padding settings, modify letter spacing and adjust post max size. It’s a comprehensive resource for both beginners and advanced users to build an attractive blog on any subject matter. Fancy building your WordPress blog? Let’s get going!
Choose the best hosting provider
To start your WordPress blog, you need a hosting provider to store your website data and make it accessible online. But how do you choose the best one?
Consider the price
Hosting providers come with different price tags. While you might be tempted to choose the cheapest hosting provider available, remember that you often get what you pay for. Make sure to compare different hosting providers and plans to find the one that offers the best balance between price and the features you need. In this step-by-step guide, we initially used Namehero because of their competitive prices, but they have unfortunately increased their prices recently. We then discovered that Chemicloud offers similar services but at a more pocket-friendly price.
Evaluate the quality of customer support
You never know when you might run into technical issues with your website. Therefore, a good hosting provider should offer 24/7 customer support to ensure your website is always running smoothly. Chemicloud, for example, offers superior customer support, giving you peace of mind knowing that help is just a call or email away.
Along with hosting, consider the domain name
Your domain name is your website’s address on the internet. It should be easy to remember and reflect your brand. Most hosting providers, like Chemicloud, will allow you to purchase a domain name along with your hosting plan.
Install and set up WordPress
After securing your hosting provider and domain name, it’s time to install and set up WordPress.
The process of installing WordPress
Most hosting providers offer a straightforward process for installing WordPress, often with just a few clicks. Your hosting provider should provide detailed instructions on how to do this.
How to set up and configure WordPress
After installing WordPress, you’ll need to set it up. This includes choosing a theme, creating pages, setting up menus, and more. Make sure to take your time with this step to ensure that your website looks and works exactly how you want it.
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Design your homepage
Your homepage is the first thing visitors see when they arrive at your website. It should be professionally designed and easy to navigate.
Import initial designs and pages
For those who are not tech-savvy, using a starter template can be a quick way to set up your website. These templates have all the necessary pages and designs, and you just need to replace the placeholder content with your content.
Customize the homepage design
After importing your design, it’s time to customize it by changing the color scheme, adding your logo, updating the images, and adjusting the layout to match your brand identity.
Install blog post widget on the homepage
To showcase your latest blog posts on your homepage, install the blog post widget. This will automatically pull in your latest posts and display them in a dedicated section of your homepage.
Create amazing blog posts
At the heart of your blog are your blog posts. Here’s how you can create posts that not only look good but are also optimized for both search engines and readers.
Publish and design your blog posts
Your blog posts should be well-written and well-designed. WordPress makes it easy to add text, images, and other elements to your post. Once you’re done, hit the publish button to send your post live.
Ensure the blog posts look engaging
Your blog posts should not only be interesting to read, but they should also be visually engaging. This includes using high-quality images, breaking up text into smaller paragraphs for easy reading, and using headings and subheadings for better organization.
Optimize your posts for SEO and readers
Search engine optimization (SEO) is important for bringing more traffic to your website. WordPress has numerous plugins that can help you with this, like Yoast SEO. SEO involves using relevant keywords in your post, creating a catchy and descriptive title, adding meta descriptions, and more.
Add a table of content
A table of content at the top of your blog posts can enhance the reading experience and improve your search engine ranking. It allows readers to jump to different sections of your post and also gives search engines a better understanding of your content.
Include a reading progress tracker
Adding a reading progress tracker to your posts is a great way to keep your audience engaged. It shows them how much of the post they have read and how much is left.
Include share buttons for easy content sharing
If readers enjoy your post, they’ll want to share it with others. Adding share buttons to your posts make it easy for readers to share your content on their social media without leaving your website.
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Design the headers and footers
Your website’s headers and footers appear on every page, so they need to be well-designed and consistent with your brand identity.
Design and create a unique logo
Your logo is a crucial part of your brand identity. Create a logo that represents your brand and add it to the header of your website.
Customize the headers and footers
With WordPress, you can customize the look and feel of your headers and footers. This includes changing the background colors, adding or removing menu items, and more.
Ensure the headers and footers are responsive
Your headers and footers should look good on all devices, whether it’s a computer, tablet, or mobile phone. Test your website on different devices to ensure your headers and footers are responsive.
Speed up your WordPress blog
A slow website can turn off visitors and hurt your search engine ranking.
Learn about various plugins that can enhance the speed
There are numerous plugins available that can help speed up your WordPress blog. These include caching plugins, image optimization plugins, and more.
Follow a tutorial to improve the speed
WP Maker offers a tutorial on how to speed up your WordPress site. Following such tutorials can help make your website load faster and provide a better user experience.
Test the speed of your website
After optimizing your website, it’s important to test its speed. Use tools like Google PageSpeed Insights or GTMetrix to measure your website’s speed and identify any potential issues.
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Make your blog mobile-friendly
With more people browsing the internet on their mobile devices, it’s crucial for your blog to be mobile-friendly.
Understand the importance of a mobile-friendly site
A mobile-friendly site is not just about having a website that looks good on mobile devices. It’s about providing a seamless and comfortable experience for your mobile users.
Learn how to make your website mobile responsive
A mobile responsive website adjusts its layout and elements based on the screen size of the device. In this guide, we discuss how you can make your website mobile responsive using responsive design techniques.
Testing your blog on various mobile devices
After making your website mobile responsive, ensure to test it on various mobile devices to see how it looks and works. Any necessary adjustments should be made to ensure the design looks good on all devices.
Understand and adjust WordPress settings
WordPress comes with numerous settings that allow you to control different aspects of your website.
Essential settings to change
There are several settings that you definitely need to adjust when setting up your WordPress site. These include your website name, your website tagline, your date and time format, the structure of your permalinks, and more.
How to navigate to settings
From your WordPress dashboard, you can navigate to the “Settings” tab where you’ll find all the different settings.
Steps to change settings
To change your settings, simply click on the option you want to adjust, make your changes, and then hit the “Save Changes” button. It’s that easy!
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Learn how to use Elementor
Elementor is a drag and drop page builder for WordPress that allows you to create beautiful websites without knowing to code.
Introduction to Elementor
Elementor comes with a simple and intuitive interface that makes designing your website a breeze. You simply drag and drop elements (like images, text, buttons, and more) onto your page and then customize them as you like.
How to use Elementor to design a blog
Whether you’re creating a blog post, a contact page, or a homepage, Elementor makes it easy. Just choose the element you want to add, drag it onto the page, and then customize it to suit your needs.
Steps to make a blog using Elementor
The steps to design a blog using Elementor include adding a new page, choosing a template, dragging and dropping elements, and customizing those elements. Remember to save your changes as you work on your design so that you don’t lose any progress.
Conclusion
Creating a professional WordPress blog may seem complicated, but with the right tools and guidance, it doesn’t have to be. By choosing a good hosting provider, installing and setting up WordPress, designing your homepage, creating engaging and SEO-optimized blog posts, and making your website mobile-friendly, you can have your WordPress blog up and running in no time. So why wait? Start your own blog today and join the world of blogging!
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