WordPress creation for beginners
WordPress could be described as the most popular and easiest method for creating your own website or blog. WordPress is now so well known that it accounts for more than 35% of all websites on the Internet. This means that every fourth website the user visits is probably powered by WordPress.
Technically speaking, WordPress is an open source content management system that is licensed under GPLv2. For any user, this means that the software does not cost them a cent. A content management system, or CMS for short, is exactly the right tool for managing particularly important aspects of your own website in a simple way. In addition, the website operator does not need to have any great programming skills.
WordPress therefore appeals to a particularly large target group, as creating a website is accessible to everyone, regardless of whether they are a beginner or an experienced professional.
What options does WordPress offer?
- Creation of themes, individual contributions, plugins and widgets (e.g. Woocommerce)
- Create store
- Building a fan base
- Personal host via wordpress.org
- Website hosted by WP via wordpress.com
- Development of a blog
- Clear dashboard for individual web design
- Individual domain
- Administration using a content management system(CMS)
- Create portfolio
Differentiation between the two WordPress sites: wordpress.com and wordpress.org
As soon as the term “WordPress” is mentioned, in most cases it refers to the self-hosted WordPress, which is available at wordpress.org. If the website operator wants to own their website themselves, self-hosted WordPress is almost always the best option. To get started with self-hosted WordPress, the first step is to purchase web hosting and a domain name.
To better understand the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com, here is a short version:
As already mentioned, the .org version is the self-hosted version of WordPress. This open source WordPress software is free and can be installed on your own web host to create a 100% custom website.
The .com version, on the other hand, is a profit-oriented and fee-based service operated by the wordpress.org software. This variant is easier to use, but the flexibility of self-hosted WordPress is lost.
The history of WordPress
WordPress is an offshoot of the former b2/cafelog project. WordPress was finally developed as an independent project in 2003.
WP is constantly being developed by a large community of contributors and is open source software. The origins of WordPress lie in the development of a collaboration between Mike Little and Matt Mullenweg.
Matt Mullenweg has been considered the face of WordPress ever since. In addition, Mullenweg is also the founder of Automattic, the company behind the profit-oriented wordpress.com service.
WordPress, with the help of its contributors and large community, has managed to become the most popular solution for creating any type of website. Since its foundation as a blog platform in 2003, WordPress has continued to evolve to become even better. This project is likely to continue in the future.
Which themes and plugins play a role in the creation of WordPress?
Originally, WordPress was mainly used for creating blogs and not for traditional websites. However, this has now changed. Thanks to the extensive ecosystem of plugins and themes and the changes to the core code in WordPress, any type of website can now be created with WordPress.
WordPress is not only used for a large number of company websites and blogs, but is also the most popular method for creating an e-commerce store. The following can be created with WordPress:
- Business websites
- Portfolios
- Resume files
- E-commerce stores
- Social Networks
- Membership pages
- Blogs
Users of WordPress
WordPress is not only used by individuals, but also by large companies. The following websites are examples that also work with WordPress:
Microsoft – Microsoft uses WordPress to power its official blog. It is also used to operate blogs for certain products such as Skype or Windows.
The Rolling Stones – Not only the classic corporate chains use WordPress, but also bands that want to set up their own website.
Whitehouse.gov – Even the official White House website uses WordPress for itself.
Themes, plugins and articles that make it easier to create websites with WordPress
Not only many well-known companies use WordPress, but also individuals for a wide variety of occasions. E.g. for the creation of a blog or your own small online store.
Regardless of what type of website you need, there are many reasons to choose WordPress:
1. free open source version
This is one of the biggest advantages. While you have to pay a little for hosting, the use of the WordPress software remains free, which is not the case with other web design alternatives.
The appearance and functionality of the website can be changed using numerous open source plugins and themes.
2. easy installation
Nowadays, you don’t have to be a technical genius to display your own contributions on a website. Nowadays, web hosters offer two options: Either there is an offer that takes over the installation of WordPress for the user so that the site can be used immediately, or special tools are made available that make installation very beginner-friendly.
This means that anyone who can click on a few buttons can also install WordPress.
3. WordPress is extensible
Thanks to the enormous WordPress ecosystem of plugins and themes, the website can be easily changed without requiring great development skills.
A brief explanation: Plugins primarily change the way a website works. These plugins can be huge, such as creating an e-commerce store, or very small, such as a contact form. Themes, on the other hand, are responsible for changing the appearance of the website.
There are currently 5,000 free WordPress themes, 50,000 free WordPress plugins and a whole host of premium options.
4. WordPress help is always available
Due to the high popularity of WordPress, there are numerous ways to learn new things about WordPress or to get help if you are stuck. There are tons of tutorials, blogs, Facebook groups, forums and even developers who can be contacted free of charge or for a fee if required.
5. high flexibility
The website is not only easy to create with WordPress, it can also be adapted and improved again and again. WordPress provides various plug-ins for this purpose. For example, the bbPress plug-in can be installed as soon as the operator wants to add a forum to his website. A social network can also be added to the website using the BuddyPress plug-in.
WordPress does not bind its users to any specific functions and the website can be adapted and further developed as desired at any time.
Should I host my website myself or have it hosted by wordpress.com?
WordPress offers two well-known options for publishing your own website.
You can easily create your own homepage via wordpress.com. The user has three gigabytes of free storage space and does not have to worry about anything. The domain will be named deinedomain.wordpress.com. Alternatively, fee-based packages can add a domain or use existing ones. The disadvantages are the restrictions on design and the inclusion of your own advertising. This is all you need to start a private blog and there are no costs involved.
The alternative to this is wordpress.org, where the WordPress software must be downloaded and installed independently. You can choose from a wide range of options to create your own web design. This requires a hoster whose hardware provides the website with its storage space. The quality of accessibility and speed of the website also depends on the hoster. This means that the website operator can design the page as they wish and change it again at any time.
What exactly are plugins and widgets?
Plugins and widgets are extensions for WordPress that make the content management system(CMS) more flexible and powerful. WordPress itself is very simply structured, which means that you need additional components that can make the system flexible. The basic configuration of the content management system already includes a number of features, e.g. a plugin for combating spam or a widget for author information. In the best case, both components are used.
Plugins have their own menu item, as they can have a very complex effect in terms of scope. Widgets, on the other hand, are design elements that can be set, defined and modified as sub-items of the themes.
Plugins and widgets can be used in different ways and therefore fulfill different tasks. Only a few additional components are relevant for administrator interfaces to make working with WordPress more convenient. However, the majority also has an impact on the user interface of the website. For example, it is possible for visitors to enter and manage their comments more easily.
The use of plugins and widgets is now very conveniently regulated. In order to activate the plugins via the administrator interface, they first had to be unpacked manually and then uploaded to the server. You can now integrate any widget and plugin directly via the administrator interface. The installation then takes place fully automatically. Additional menus in the administrator interface can be used to make various settings for many of the additional components.
Almost all good plugins and widgets are distributed via the official WordPress website. It is also possible to use other sources for their procurement. However, this poses a problem, as it is not sufficiently certain that the offers will do exactly what you want them to do. However, you can also easily program your own plugins and widgets if you can’t find anything suitable for your needs from the wide range of offers on the official WordPress website.
How do I install a new plugin?
Just like installing the themes, installing plugins is also very easy. The following steps must be followed:
- The user clicks on Plugins -> Install
- Then enter the name of the plugin under “Search plugins”
- Now click on the “Install” button in the dashboard
- Now the download and installation of the plugin begins
- The plugin can be used by clicking on “Activate”
- (Online tutorials are also available for beginners)
Which plugins should I definitely use?
Yoast SEO:
This plugin is definitely a must if you want your website to be found in search engines. Yoast SEO is free and lets you customize the page description and page title. You can immediately check how Google displays this in the search results. For professionals, there are many more settings that can be made with Yoast SEO.
TinyPNG:
The TinyPNG plugin is particularly useful as it provides 500 images free of charge. Image files (.jpg & .png) shrink automatically in favor of page speed without any loss of quality. Pagespeed is now considered an important ranking criterion by Google.
Akismet / Disqus:
Akismet is also a must-have, as it has declared war on trackback and comment spam. An alternative to this plugin is Disqus, which also works very well. Comments can be managed and the plugin also counteracts spam here.
What is a CMS?
CMS is the abbreviation for content management system, which is software for creating and editing digital content on a website. The content consists of text and multimedia documents, including the editing of images, texts and files.
