If you skipped adding your API Key previously, you can easily add it here before loading the layout. To install the home page layout, select it for a bigger preview, then click the use this layout button. From how to create a WordPress website here, you’ll want to upload Divi into your WordPress install. Click on the upload theme tab to upload a theme, then click choose file to upload your zipped WordPress theme file.
Best Online Form Builders (Expert Picks for
If you stick with the free version, you can’t upload any custom themes or plugins, and you will have a WordPress subdomain. I think this makes the free plan unsuitable for most serious websites. WordPress.com is preferable if you’re looking for an all-in-one option that has most of the hard work done for you. You’ll never need to manage your server, pay for your hosting, or buy a domain.
Small Business Owners
- For more advanced use cases, you can also create your own WordPress custom post types.
- For any WordPress maintenance plan, monitoring uptime is critical for ensuring uninterrupted service, protecting your clients’ businesses, and maintaining customer satisfaction.
- Automatically share new posts across your profiles right from the site to engage your audience.
- If you chose a web hosting plan that includes a free domain name, such as DreamHost, then you will be prompted to choose a domain as part of your account registration process.
- To keep your website online, you need to rent out server space from a web hosting company.
- Now, let’s move on to the next step and choose a design for your website.
You can use plugins for small features (such as adding a contact form) or big features (such as turning your site into a fully functioning online store). Of course, this is just a fraction of what you can do in the dashboard — this post offers more information on your WordPress site settings and customization options. Again, WordPress.org requires you to purchase your own domain and find a third-party hosting provider for your website. WordPress.com allows you to decide whether or not you want a custom domain depending on the plan you choose, but it takes care of the hosting for you. Again, I think that most people who are looking to make a serious website should choose at least the Creator plan. You’ll need this plan to install your own custom themes and plugins, which are some of the best parts of WordPress.
- One of the last things left to complete from the setup list is to launch your site.
- The process itself of creating a blog post works nearly the same as creating a new page.
- Beyond that, you need to update your WordPress site and plugins regularly.
- Starting from your dashboard, go to Pages → Add New Page to create a new page.
- Just forget about the other options for now if you’re not sure what they’re supposed to do.
Step 1: Activating EA Parallax
Here, click on the three-dot icon of the topmost element and then on Add before. Other sources of images are stock photo sites like Unsplash, Pixabay, or Pexels. You can also consider using Openverse, which is a free stock photo service directly integrated into the WordPress.com editor. However, you have many more options to present images, such as in the form of a gallery, slideshow, or cover. That’s what appears in the body of the page (as you might have guessed) and contains the main information of each page or post.
Divi Cloud
Astra Pro allows you to customize the header and footer of your website with options for adding a logo, social media icons, and a search bar. You can show your latest posts on the home page or choose a static post or page. When the discourage checkbox is ticked, search engines block your site from being indexed, so you’ll want to leave that unchecked before launching. When creating posts in WordPress, you can add content using the Gutenberg block editor or use one of many page builder plugins, such as Divi.
Use a Search-friendly URL Structure
- This makes especially good sense for online shops, where grouping products is imperative.
- Note that this process can take a few minutes and the steps will vary slightly by web hosting provider.
- Once you’re done with those, you can also check out this list of some valuable pages worth having on your site.
- That’s why WordPress is, by far, the most popular way to make a website.
- So far, we have shown you how to update page layouts, blog post layouts and other settings.
Make sure that you’re choosing a strong password that no one can guess easily. Although the one-year plan sounds appealing already, Bluehost also gives you a few more options to choose from. If you are 100% sure about your site for the long haul, you can pay for more than one year and forget about paying website hosting fees for the immediate future. Although it is technically possible to switch domain names in the future, this is not something I would recommend. I know it’s hard to commit to a single domain name now, but take your time, as this is probably a domain name you will recognize your site by permanently.
Although there is an initial learning curve to overcome, it’s easy for beginners to learn and master. With a vast community of third-party developers, tutorials, and plugins available, you can customize your WordPress website to make it your own. To get the most out of WordPress, opt for a quality WordPress host, such as SiteGround, so you can easily install and manage your WordPress site. Also, make sure to invest in a premium theme, such as Divi, so you can make your website one-of-a-kind.