How to install WordPress theme

How to make a WordPress website for free?

Abhinav Girdhar
By Abhinav Girdhar | Last Updated on April 28th, 2024 10:03 am | 5-min read

Are you planning to create a website? What’s holding you back? One of the biggest reasons why people do not take the first step towards creating a website is the lack of technical skills and know how. Typically creating a website involves endless coding and a deep technical knowledge of web programming languages. However, hundreds of thousands of professionals have managed to create attractive and efficient websites using WordPress without learning to code. Here is a step by step guide on – How to make a WordPress website.How to make a WordPress websiteIn this post we are going to talk about the following:

  • How to create a WordPress website?

  • How to add theme in WordPress?

  • How to speed up WordPress site?

  • How to create a wireframe for a website?

  • How to write website copy?

Why do people prefer WordPress over its competitors?

The biggest reason why people use WordPress to create their websites is that it is completely free! Apart from this, the platform is pretty easy to use and has enough flexibility to suit a variety of needs.

  • You can create a website without any coding with WordPress.

  • The platform is completely free.

  • Creating a website on WordPress takes barely a day or two.

  • WordPress is one of the easiest to use platforms for creating websites.

Things to do before you start building your WordPress website

Before we give you a step by step breakdown of the entire process of creating a website using WordPress, let us talk about some of the most basic things that you must take care of, beforehand.

  1. Define purpose & find inspiration

    2. This is a critical exercise that most people miss out on. Creating a website without defining the purpose can lead you to a mess. Figure out what you want the website to do for you and write it down so that you can have it as a reference for every website related decision you make. Another important exercise is research and inspiration. List down your favorite websites and take a long hard look at them. Understand what is it that sets them apart from the rest. This is what should inspire you and lead you to create a website that you and your customers or visitors would love to use. If you are looking for more details on how to do this successfully, I recommend watching the video below.
    (Above video is a part of a more elaborate course on Academy by Appy Pie. To access the complete course, please Click Here, or continue reading below.)

  2. Website color scheme and website colors

    3. The color scheme or the visual design of your website is important. Your website colors should resonate with your brand colors and the products or services you are offering. For example, you would not really enjoy a hospital or doctor’s website that is all black, or a food ordering website that is grey and dull. Here’s a detailed video that will help you choose your website color scheme and the right color palette for your website.
    (Above video is a part of a more elaborate course on Academy by Appy Pie. To access the complete course, please Click Here, or continue reading below.)

  3. Creating a wireframe and writing a website copy

    4. Doing this beforehand will save you a lot of time. Though you may be tempted to jump right on to the fun part of creating a website and keep thinking of your design as you go, but creating a detailed wireframe and writing your website copy beforehand is going to save you a lot of time in the long run. Here is a video that will teach you how to create a wireframe for a website and how to write website copy.
    (Above video is a part of a more elaborate course on Academy by Appy Pie. To access the complete course, please Click Here, or continue reading below.)

  4. WordPress plugins for speed & security

    5. Two of the most important performance indicators for a good website are – speed and security. There are many ways to optimize your website speed. However, one of the most important and effective ways is to go for a good speed plugin. I cannot stress enough upon the importance of security when it comes to creating a website of your own. It is important to have the right security plugins for your website, for your safety and for the visitors on your website. Here are a couple of videos that will tell you which are the best WordPress plugins for security and speed.
    (Above video is a part of a more elaborate course on Academy by Appy Pie. To access the complete course, please Click Here, or continue reading below.)
    (Above video is a part of a more elaborate course on Academy by Appy Pie. To access the complete course, please Click Here, or continue reading below.)

Difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org

If you have only recently been introduced to WordPress, you may have trouble understanding the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org. The single biggest difference between the two is about the hosting. WordPress.com takes care of your hosting for you, but on WordPress.org, it is you who needs to do it. In case of WordPress.com you do not have to download the software or pay for any hosting service. Nor do you have to manage a web server. However, in case of WordPress.org, you would need to download the free software and install it on your web server. Hosting costs are extra and depends on the service provider.

How to create a WordPress website for beginners?

Here, I am going to talk about the step by step process of creating your website with WordPress.org. This guide can come in handy for beginners and even help people who are familiar with the platform but need a little refresher.Following are the steps to create a WordPress website:

  1. Get a domain name

    2. If you haven’t done this already, it’s time you go and buy a domain name at the earliest. A good domain name should be the same or as close as possible to the name of your website or business. The domain name would only make sense if it is short and easy to remember.

  2. Sign up for hosting services

    3. Once you have bought your domain name, it is time to look for a host or a hosting service provider. Choose a hosting provider that meets the following criteria:
    • Latest Versions of PHP and MySQL or MariaDB
    • HTTPS Support
    Once you have chosen a hosting provider, you will then have to decide between shared or managed WordPress hosting. Shared WordPress hosting involves sharing a server and all its resources with other sites. It is cheaper and is a better choice for smaller sites. Managed WordPress hosting may involve VPS or dedicated hosting and is a little more expensive. It is a good choice for larger sites that need more resources.

  3. Install WordPress Software

    4. This is where all the fun begins! This can be done directly through your hosting dashboard. The WordPress installation may be one-click or manual (depending on your hosting service provider).

    • One-Click WordPress Installation

      • Like the name suggests, installing WordPress software with hosting providers who offer one-click installation is really just about one click!

    • Manual WordPress Installation

      • Manual WordPress installation involves downloading WordPress to your computer first, and then re-uploading it to your hosting provider.

  4. Select your WordPress theme

    5. Every site on WordPress starts with a theme, which is pretty much a template for your website, which you can then populate with your own content (including text, logo, pictures and more) and customize it to suit your business. There are multiple WordPress website themes available on the platform and you can pick the one that you like the most for your business!

    How to install WordPress theme manually?

    Follow the steps below to install a free WordPress one-page theme.

    • Go to your WordPress dashboard.

    • Hover above ‘Appearance’ and click on ‘Themes’ to navigate to your theme dashboard.

    • Click on the ‘Add New’ button above the themes and browse the themes or search for WordPress website themes from specific industries by typing in the search bar.

    • Choose the one you like and click on the ‘Install’ button under the theme to download it.

    • Once the theme is downloaded, an ‘Activate’ button will appear underneath the theme. Click on ‘Activate’ and you are done!

  5. Add your content

    6. After installing the right WordPress website theme, you are now ready to add some content on your website. In context of written content, there are two types – Pages and Posts. Pages would only change when you edit them. You can add a new page by going to Pages and then clicking on ‘Add New’. Posts are essentially entries in chronological order and can be either on the homepage or in the blog section. You can add a new post by going to Posts and then clicking on ‘Add New’. How to install WordPress theme?

  6. Customize

    7. Once you have added some pages and posts to your website, it would start looking familiar and related to your work. Let’s work on customizing your website a little further. Following are 4 effective ways to customize your WordPress site:

    • Edit the site title and tagline

      • You don’t want your site to be titled ‘Just another WordPress site’ which is the default title.

    • Add Navigation Menu

      • This menu would tell your visitors where to find the content on your website. All themes have at least one menu, while the more complex ones offer multiple options.

    • Homepage

      • Set a homepage for your website. This will be the central point where your visitors will land first. It can be either dynamic or static as per your needs.

    • Comment Settings

      • Comments can show engagement and promote interaction with visitors. You may choose to keep them on or switch them off, according to the audience you cater to. It’s a good idea to at least add a filtering step to prevent your site from getting spammed.

  7. Install plugins

    8. I have talked earlier about installing WordPress plugins for security and speed. Plugins essentially help you install features on your website that WordPress doesn’t have already. Some are available for free while others may be paid. However, all the plugins in the WordPress library are available for free. Though these plugins are great for adding functionality to your website but adding too many may be bad for your website speed.

  8. Update diligently

    9. Creating an amazing WordPress website is not the end of the road for you. Since your website has a theme and multiple plugins, it is essential that you keep updating them all as frequently as needed.

Conclusion

A WordPress website is the best possible solution for creating a strong online presence with minimal resources. The platform is available to use for free and can help you with multiple added functionalities that will take the user experience several levels up. This post can serve as a guide for creating a WordPress website that can help beginners understand the basics and get their website launched in a jiffy! Have you created a website already? Would you like to buy a domain name and get started on your website? Appy Pie lets you find a domain name and register it with ease! Try it now!

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Abhinav Girdhar

Founder and CEO of Appy Pie

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