![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/WordPress-Dashboard.png\")
But once you start digging deeper into WordPress, you may feel overwhelmed as you dig deeper into the layers of functionality within the content management system.<\/p>\n So, let\u2019s talk practical steps here.<\/p>\n What do you need to do to get started in WordPress and end up with a website that\u2019s ready to impress visitors straight out the gate? And how can you do this in the most efficient manner as possible, even without prior experience in WordPress? The following WordPress tutorial will walk you through all the necessary steps in setting up your first WordPress site.<\/p>\n Before you even step inside WordPress, you need to do some work to find a home for it. So, let\u2019s start with the steps you need to tackle outside of WordPress, and then move inside the platform once we have you all set up.<\/p>\n This is a web domain:<\/p>\n It will serve as the URL inside your visitors\u2019 address bar when they visit your WordPress site. Make sure it is:<\/p>\n Unless you have already purchased a domain for your website, it\u2019s best to do so when you purchase your web hosting plan (especially since some plans will include a free domain).<\/p>\n So long as no one has claimed the name before, you\u2019ll have your choice of top-level domain (TLD) as well. A TLD is a suffix you attach to the URL like .com, .edu, .biz, etc. There are even ones available for specific industries as well as based on your geographic location (like .uk and .eu). Google<\/a> has a pretty good roundup on the various TLDs you can choose from.<\/p>\n Web hosting does exactly what it says: it \u201chosts\u201d websites. In other words, web hosting companies own and manage giant web servers located in data centers around the country (and, sometimes, the world).<\/p>\n It\u2019s on these web servers where websites like yours sit, so you don\u2019t have to buy or manage any of the server technology yourself. You pay these companies what amounts to monthly or annual rent for space and bandwidth on the server. Then, you can focus on building your website in WordPress.<\/p>\n In terms of choosing a hosting plan, you should think about what you actually want to do with your website.<\/p>\n Once you start receiving heavy traffic and are doing lots of business through your site, you may want to consider moving to managed WordPress hosting<\/a>.<\/p>\n Whichever way you choose to go, you can’t go wrong with WPMU DEV hosting<\/a>.<\/p>\n Even our affordable starter plan (Bronze) offers fully dedicated managed WordPress hosting with blazing-fast speeds, loads of storage, RAM, and bandwidth to help you grow, built-in state-of-the-art features, and 24\/7 access to live chat support.<\/p>\n Of course, you can choose other hosting providers<\/a> to set up a WordPress site, but we are confident that you’ll find our hosting service hard to beat, especially when you see how we compare with other leading hosting providers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Signing up for web hosting with WPMU DEV is easy–it\u2019s like purchasing any other software or service.<\/p>\n You can purchase our hosting separately<\/a> starting from just $4 per month. Note: for a complete suite of tools, services, and support to help you manage, secure, and optimize your site(s) effectively, we recommend that you also consider becoming a WPMU DEV member<\/a>.<\/p>\n All you need to start with is a domain name. You don’t need anything else, like an SSL certificate<\/a> to boost security, CDN<\/a>, dedicated IP addresses, etc. as we supply all of that.<\/p>\n Enter your details to set up your account and click next…<\/p>\n Enter your payment information, click the Get started button, and you’re all good to go.<\/p>\n Your account will be automatically created and your account details will be sent to your email.<\/p>\n There are a number of ways to install WordPress. Most web hosting service will provide you with an easy-to-use one-click installation process that simplifies the whole process.<\/p>\n With WPMU DEV hosting, we make things even simpler by automatically installing and configuring WordPress for you when you create a new site (and we give you different options to create your site too!)<\/p>\n Let’s go through an example…<\/p>\n First, log into your WPMU DEV account and go to The Hub (our WordPress management console and your web hosting HQ):<\/p>\n The Hub lets you manage all of your WordPress sites (even if they’re not hosted with WPMU DEV).<\/p>\n To create a new WordPress site in The Hub, click on the (+) button<\/p>\n You’ll be presented with different options for adding a site, such as connecting an externally hosted site, migrating your site from another host, creating a brand new site from scratch or from a template, or cloning your site from an existing site.<\/p>\n For this example, select Create New…<\/p>\n You will be presented with The Hub’s site creation wizard. Let’s go through the steps…<\/p>\n First, select the type of site you would like to create. Let’s choose a brand new site.<\/p>\n Next, you will be asked to create a temporary website URL. Pick any name you like. This name will display as xxxx<\/em>.tempurl.host (where xxxx<\/em> is the name you choose). Tip:<\/em> if you’re setting up multiple sites, use your domain as the prefix (e.g. ‘yourdomain<\/em>.tempurl.host’).<\/p>\n Next, set up your WordPress admin account. This will be your site’s login details.<\/p>\n Last step, choose a server location where your site will be hosted. We currently have 10 data centers located around the world, so pick the one closest to where most of your visitors are located.<\/p>\n That’s it, your site will be installed with WordPress and your server configurations will be optimized…all this is automatically done in mere minutes.<\/p>\n Your WordPress site is now completely installed, set up and ready to go.<\/p>\n Note:<\/em> The only step left to do is to connect your domain name with your new site in your hosting account. Once this is done, your domain name will replace the temporary website URL.<\/p>\n To complete this step, see our tutorial on how to configure your DNS and Nameservers<\/a>.<\/p>\n Once you have completed the installation and created your WordPress login credentials, it\u2019s time to step inside.<\/p>\n You can access your WordPress admin area easily via The Hub.<\/p>\n Alternatively, you can log into your WordPress admin area from your web browser.<\/p>\n Here is what your admin login screen will look like:<\/p>\n Unless you change your login domain (which you eventually should for security reasons<\/a>), your admin login will be located at www.yourdomainname.com\/wp-login.php<\/em>.<\/p>\n You may be tempted to start combing through the various settings and pages in the WordPress menu, but hold on to that for now. The first thing you need to do here is to find a theme for your site.<\/p>\n A WordPress theme is a pre-designed and pre-coded interface template for WordPress. Basically, it saves you the trouble (and money) of having to design your own website from-scratch or to pay someone else to do it for you.<\/p>\n When you log into WordPress for the first time, WordPress will automatically assign their latest theme to your site.<\/p>\n There\u2019s absolutely nothing wrong with using this theme, especially since it\u2019s built by WordPress developers. However, it\u2019s a very basic theme and one that\u2019s not likely going to be useful if you want to do anything more than blog or create a simple site for a local business.<\/p>\n If you want something just as popular but with a little more flexibility, try the Astra theme<\/a>. It’s almost as popular as the default theme with over 1.6 million users, but offers over 180 templates you can import and begin using right away.<\/p>\n If you want to use a different WordPress theme, don\u2019t be afraid <\/span>to look around and find the best and most trustworthy WordPress theme<\/a> for your purposes.<\/p>\n Keep in mind that every theme requires some configuration. Also, not every theme works the same way. Some utilize a basic text editor (which looks similar to the blank page in Microsoft Word) while others use a page builder or visual editor. So, switching from one theme to another will force you to do a little rework if or when you make a switch. If you want to spare yourself the possible hassle, then don\u2019t move on to the next steps until you\u2019ve found the perfect WordPress theme for your site.<\/p>\n When you find that perfect WordPress theme, it\u2019s time install it in WordPress.<\/p>\n Free WordPress Themes<\/b> Inside WordPress, go to the Appearance tab and click on \u201cThemes\u201d.<\/p>\n At the top of the page, click on \u201cAdd New\u201d. This will take you to the WordPress repository from within WordPress. Use this option so you don\u2019t have to do any manual installation.<\/p>\n Once you\u2019re in the repository, do a search for the WordPress theme you want to use. Hover over it, and click the \u201cInstall\u201d button.<\/p>\n When it\u2019s done installing, you then have to activate it in order to publish it to your WordPress site. Click on \u201cActivate\u201d (in the same spot where the \u201cInstall\u201d button was) and wait for it to take you back into the main WordPress dashboard.<\/p>\n Premium WordPress Themes<\/b> Go to your WordPress theme\u2019s page and purchase the file. Once you\u2019ve done this, you\u2019ll be taken to a screen where you can download the theme file. It will look something like this:<\/p>\n If there is an option for it, download the \u201cInstallable WordPress Files Only\u201d. This will give you a zipped folder you can then upload directly into WordPress.<\/p>\n To do this, go back into WordPress, find the Appearance tab, and go to \u201cThemes\u201d. Click on \u201cAdd New\u201d at the top. Only, this time, you\u2019ll select the \u201cUpload Theme\u201d option.<\/p>\n Select the zip file from your computer and click Install Now. With your new theme uploaded into WordPress, you can now activate and publish it to the site.<\/p>\n Upon activation, you\u2019ll want to spend some time configuring your theme. You can do this under the Appearance tab and then click \u201cCustomize\u201d.<\/p>\n Ultimately, it\u2019s up to you to decide how much or little of your theme you want to customize. However, you should at least take some time now to go through each of the modules and acquaint yourself with what you have the power to change.<\/p>\n Site Identity is an important one to fill in, so make sure you look at that first.<\/p>\n Colors allows to update your site to your brand\u2019s color palette (if you have one).<\/p>\n Widgets allows you to add content to your footer.<\/p>\n And Menus refers to your site\u2019s navigation–something I\u2019m going to cover in Step 8 so there\u2019s nothing to do here just yet.<\/p>\n There are two types of \u201cpages\u201d you can create for your website:<\/p>\n 1. Page<\/b><\/p>\n These are traditional web pages that exist within the main navigation of a site. The About page, Contact page, and individual services pages all are made using the Page feature in WordPress.<\/p>\n 2. Post<\/b><\/p>\n These are blog post \u201cpages\u201d that will only exist within the blog on your website, unless you designate the home page to serve as the blog feed (I\u2019ll talk about that in Step 9).<\/p>\n Now, the great thing about WordPress is that the interface is consistent regardless of whether you\u2019re creating a page or a post. There are different settings you need to apply to each, but the main area in which you work remains the same, which makes it a workspace that\u2019s easy to get used to.<\/p>\n Of course, if you work in a theme that uses a page builder or a visual builder tool to create content, this is going to look a little different.<\/p>\n A page builder tool allows you to create \u201cblocks\u201d of content for your site within WordPress. Once the blocks are in place, you can then populate them with corresponding content.<\/p>\n A visual builder tool works similarly in that it allows you to create blocks of content for your site–however, it does it on the front end of the actual site so you can see your changes in real time. There are plenty of drag and drop page builders out there, but here are some of our favorites<\/a>.<\/p>\n Regardless of which content creation tool your WordPress theme uses, it\u2019s time to create content for your site.<\/p>\n If you\u2019re running a blog, simply get started writing your first Posts. Once you hit the Publish button, your blogs will go live on the designated Blog page.<\/p>\n For a traditional website, you\u2019ll probably want to build out the following pages:<\/p>\n As your website grows, you can create other pages. For now, those will suffice. Get some content on them, publish the pages, and then let\u2019s work on getting them onto your website.<\/p>\n Whereas when you hit the \u201cPublish\u201d button on a Post and it goes straight onto your blog, a Page needs to be added to your site\u2019s navigation (or menu) if you want it to show up.<\/p>\n So, the first thing to do is to create those pages for your site (which you did in Step 7).<\/p>\n Next, you\u2019ll want to go to the Appearance tab and select \u201cMenus\u201d. This is where you will build and manage your site\u2019s navigation.<\/p>\n There is kind of a lot going on here, so let\u2019s take this one step at a time.<\/p>\n First, let\u2019s look at the menu selection dropdown.<\/p>\n Unless you have a need for a mega menu<\/a> or multiple menu options on your site, you likely won\u2019t even have a choice here. However, if your theme automatically creates secondary or footer menus for you, be sure to select the one you actually want to create\/edit here.<\/p>\n Next, let\u2019s look at the sidebar options.<\/p>\n When you expand these tabs, you\u2019ll be presented with pages, posts, and other types of content that already exist on your site (which is why you need to at least start on Step 7 before doing this step). For the most part, you\u2019ll be working within the Pages tab to create your menus. However, if you do have custom links or other content types you want to add to the navigation, know that this tool allows you to make that happen.<\/p>\n Now, it\u2019s time to create your menu.<\/p>\n In order to get pages to show up under the Menu Structure section, click the checkbox next to the page (or pages) you want to add to the sidebar. Then click on the \u201cAdd to Menu\u201d button. You\u2019ll see those pages then show up under Menu Structure.<\/p>\n Within this interface, you can now drag-and-drop your pages and design your menu to appear however you\u2019d like it to. In addition to placing pages in a custom order, you can also create a hierarchy. So, let\u2019s say you wanted \u201cPortfolio\u201d to appear only when someone hovers over the About tab, simply drag that page inward so that it becomes a subitem<\/em>:<\/p>\n You can also change the page labels that appear in the navigation. For instance, let\u2019s say you called the page \u201cPortfolio\u201d in WordPress so your employees would know where to put examples of your work. However, on the customer-facing side of the website, you think it would be clearer if you called the page \u201cSample Work\u201d. You can rename it here.<\/p>\n One other thing to point out here is the Menu Settings box at the bottom.<\/p>\n If you know that you\u2019ll be adding new pages regularly to your website and don\u2019t want to have to repeat this process every time, you can click on the \u201cAutomatically add new top-level pages to this menu\u201d option to streamline your process.<\/p>\n When you\u2019re done setting up your menu, save your changes.<\/p>\n I typically advise new WordPress users to leave the settings setup until this stage of the process. Many of the settings offered by WordPress control things related to your pages and posts, and that\u2019s not necessarily something you\u2019d understand until you\u2019ve actually created them for your site.<\/p>\n So, now that you\u2019ve done that, it\u2019s time to go through your settings one-by-one and make sure your WordPress site is configured to work exactly as you want it to.<\/p>\n General<\/b><\/p>\n The rest of the information pertains to date and time configurations.<\/p>\n Writing<\/b><\/p>\n Reading<\/b><\/p>\n Discussion<\/b><\/p>\n Media<\/b><\/p>\n If you\u2019ve designed a custom WordPress site, you may have a need for custom media file sizes. In using this setting, you can streamline the media upload and sizing process. That way, visual content automatically goes into your pages at the right size and you don\u2019t have to worry about making adjustments of it in your ![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/WordPress-Dashboard-Expanded.png\")
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WordPress Tutorial for Beginners: Step-by-Step<\/h2>\n
Step 1: Choose a Domain<\/h3>\n
![\"Screenshot](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Domain-Name.png\")
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Step 2: Purchase Web Hosting and Domain<\/h3>\n
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![\"WPMU](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/03\/after-screenshot.png\")
![\"WPMU](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/wpmu-dev-setup-account-01.png\")
![\"WPMU](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/wpmu-dev-setup-account-02.png\")
Step 3: Install WordPress<\/h3>\n
![\"WPMU](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/members-area-hub.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-add-website-button.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-create-new-site.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-create-site-wizard.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-create-site-wizard-02.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-create-site-wizard-03.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-create-site-wizard-04.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-new-site-creation.png\")
![\"The](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/03\/hub-new-site-wp-admin.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/WordPress-Login.png\")
Step 4: Find a WordPress Theme<\/h3>\n
![\"WordPress.org](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Twenty-Seventeen-Theme.png\")
![\"Twenty](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/WordPress-Theme-Installs.png\")
Step 5: Install Your WordPress Theme<\/h3>\n
\nIf you\u2019re using a free theme from the WordPress repository<\/a>, here is what you need to do:<\/p>\n![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Appearance-Themes-Tab.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Install-Theme.png\")
\nIf you\u2019ve decided to purchase a premium WordPress theme, the process will differ as third-party theme developers and marketplaces don\u2019t sync directly to WordPress. Here is what you need to do:<\/p>\n![\"Premium](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Uncode-Theme-Download.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Upload-Theme.png\")
Step 6: Configure Your WordPress Theme<\/h3>\n
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Appearance-Customize-tab.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Theme-Customizer.png\")
Step 7: Publish Your First Pages<\/h3>\n
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Pages.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Posts.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Page-Post-Interface.png\")
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Step 8: Create a Menu<\/h3>\n
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Appearance-Menus-tab.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Menus-Management-Choose-Menu.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Menus-Management-Sidebar-Options.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Menus-Management-Structure.png\")
![\"Nested](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Navigation-Hierarchy.png\")
![\"Change](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Navigation-Label.png\")
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Menus-Management-Auto-Add.png\")
Step 9: Configure Your WordPress Settings<\/h3>\n
![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/General-Settings.png\")
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![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Writing-Settings.png\")
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![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Reading-Settings.png\")
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![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Discussion-Settings.png\")
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![\"WordPress](\"https:\/\/wpmudev.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/02\/Media-Settings.png\")