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It’s easier than you think to build a website with WordPress
A huge proportion of websites on the internet run on WordPress (opens in new tab), and it’s an incredibly popular blogging and content management system (CMS). It’s both free and open-source, and has a huge number of themes and plugins available that allow you to customize your site.
It started out as a blogging service that’s installed on your own hosting platform, and while that’s still how you can get the most of it, WordPress now rivals the best website builders (opens in new tab) available, via the wide range of available website builders for WordPress (opens in new tab).
In this step-by-step guide, we walk you through and show you how to make a website with WordPress.
There are several ways to get started with WordPress.
First, understand that WordPress is free, open-source software that you can download from WordPress.org and install on your own web hosting. This is what we’ll do in this guide. But many of the best web hosting (opens in new tab) companies have a one-click installer, so all you need to do is click a button and WordPress will be installed on your web hosting.
Another option is third-party hosting from the best WordPress hosting (opens in new tab) providers. When you buy WordPress hosting, you get an optimized WordPress site, ready to go. If your WordPress hosting is managed, many of the day-to-day duties – such as software upgrades and backups – are taken care of for you by the web host.
Enterprise WordPress meanwhile is WordPress on a grander scale, which we explore in more detail in our feature asking whether WordPress is the way forward for enterprise content management (opens in new tab).
Finally, you can use the website builder on WordPress.com (opens in new tab). Installation of WordPress here is immediate, and you can get started creating your site in no time. You can host your WordPress website here for free, and as your needs grow, you can upgrade to one of four paid plans.
In this guide, we’ll install WordPress on our own hosting. It’s the most complex installation procedure, but offers you the highest level of customization over your WordPress site.
Almost all web hosts will support WordPress, but you do need a host that supports scripting languages and protocols including PHP 7.4 (or greater), HTTPS, and either MySQL or MariaDB database management systems. You’ll probably want to upload files to the server, so FTP (file transfer protocol) support is also useful.
A quick way to upload all the files is to use an FTP client like FileZilla. Enter your web hosting provider’s FTP details (host, username, and password) into your client, and upload all the WordPress files to your web hosting space.
You’re not just restricted to text. By clicking on the plus sign, you can add rich media elements like galleries, videos, music, and social media widgets.
WordPress is a powerful content management system with a versatile website builder. There’s so much you can do with your site to perfect it now that you know your way around the user interface. We’ve introduced the different ways that you can use WordPress and shown you its most important features. Now it’s up to you to make the best WordPress website that you possibly can.
Learn more about WordPress in our comparisons of web hosting vs WordPress vs website builders (opens in new tab) and WordPress vs Wix vs Squarespace (opens in new tab), and our feature exploring the most common WordPress website mistakes and how to fix them (opens in new tab).
Richard brings over 20 years of website development, SEO, and marketing to the table. A graduate in Computer Science, Richard has lectured in Java programming and has built software for companies including Samsung and ASDA. Now, he writes for TechRadar, Tom’s Guide, PC Gamer, and Creative Bloq.
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