Welcome to SidelinePlay's exclusive edition of this guide designed for new bloggers who want to set up a blog on the WordPress platform.
WordPress is one of the most popular content management systems (CMS) in the world. Over 44% of all internet content is built on WordPress, so users of any skill level can quickly create a website. There’s no need to learn a lot of coding; instead, it works very similar to an old-school word processor.
In this beginner’s guide to WordPress, we’ll explore the benefits of using WordPress, provide a step-by-step guide to its dashboard, and walk you through installing themes, installing plugins, creating pages, and getting your site online.
For existing WordPress bloggers, I have also listed some pro tips that you should start implementing right away to make your WordPress blog more professional.
This WordPress guide will show you the following:
- How to buy web hosting and a domain name for your WordPress blog .
- The essential things you need to set up after installing WordPress.
- Things to do immediately after initial WordPress configuration (step-by-step tutorial with pictures).
- The WordPress plugins you need to install and how to set them up.
- Pro tips to make your WordPress blog grow faster.
- Essential SEO for your WordPress blog.
You can have your WordPress blog up and running in the next 10 minutes.
Keep in mind that this beginner's guide to WordPress is carefully crafted and updated regularly. You should bookmark this page for future reference. We encourage you to browse our WordPress directory where you can find many more articles besides what I have listed here.
Create your WordPress blog (first step)
In order to create a WordPress blog, the first thing you need to do is purchase web hosting and a domain name.
- Web hosting is where your files are stored.
- A domain name is the name of your blog.
You can purchase hosting from Bluehost , which comes with a free domain name and unlimited hosting space and bandwidth for just $5.95 per month (use the discount link below).
This process will take 5 minutes and the following guide can help you through it. Click on the following link and get your hosting package now.
- Sign up with Bluehost (Exclusive discount + free domain)
The next thing you need to do is install a WordPress blog on your domain name. This process will take another 5-10 minutes. Here is the step-by-step tutorial:
After installing your WordPress blog, you will need to make some changes like setting up permalinks, updating ping lists, setting up discussion settings, etc. Don’t worry, this is not a technical problem and you can do it quickly with the help of the following guides:
- Basic setup after installing your WordPress blog (this should take another 10 minutes)
Well done! Your blog is now up and running.
Here are a few things to know before moving on to the next level:
Here are a few more things you need to learn before moving on to the next level. This will help you get through everything faster without running into any problems in the middle.
Beginner’s Guide to WordPress:
Please refer to the following guidelines:
Once you’ve completed all of the above steps, you’ve gone from a novice to a beginner!
Ok, let’s get started by installing the necessary WordPress plugins:
Now it’s time to spruce up your blog with some important things. They are as follows:
- Burn your blog feed using Feedburner (This will allow your readers to subscribe to your blog via RSS feed or email updates.)
- Add Google Analytics to your WordPress blog (This is important because here you will be able to see how much traffic you are getting and where that traffic is coming from.)
- Set up Google Tag Manager (This is a pro tip, but you should read this and implement it right away. This will help you manage all your tags, including Google Analytics tags , from one place .)
- Update your WordPress ping list (Go to this post and copy/paste the list as directed. This will help you increase your blog traffic.)
Beginner Tips to Blog Like a WordPress Pro:
A big mistake many newbies make after starting a WordPress blog is that they are reluctant to set up something that could have a huge impact.
These few settings will help you with various aspects of your new website , and each step should take no more than 5 minutes.
If you have any questions, you can send an email to admin@shoutmeloud.com and I will respond to your questions within 24 hours.
Now it’s time to set up some very important WordPress plugins:
- Install and activate WordPress SEO by Yoast (This is a great free plugin to make your blog more SEO friendly, and this tutorial will walk you through how to set it up . It’s easy to do, and if you get stuck at any step, leave me a comment and I’ll help you along the way.)
- WP Super Cache plugin (This plugin is very important to make your blog load faster. Make sure you are not using any other cache plugin along with this one.)
- WordPress Related Posts Plugins (Use any of these plugins to add related posts with thumbnails after each post. This will help your readers discover more content on your blog.)
- SocialSnap plugins (These will help you get more shares on social media.)
- PushEngage (Free WordPress plugin that allows you to web push your blog. Highly recommended .)
WordPress SEO: From Beginner to Intermediate
Welcome to the next level!
These steps will make the biggest difference to your WordPress blog . This section will ensure that you start driving traffic to your blog and that the posts you write will be seen by more people.
It will take you about an hour to understand everything here. If you have been learning and implementing everything so far, Take a break! Come back with a fresh mind because you will have learned something that will make you stand out from other bloggers.
- Complete WordPress SEO Tutorial (From Beginner to Advanced)
- How to Write SEO Friendly Articles (Beginner to Advanced)
WordPress Pro Tips:
As promised, here are some tips for those WordPress bloggers who have been using WordPress for a long time and want to learn some advanced tips. (You need it after 2-3 months of launching a blog)
- How to Optimize WordPress Database Size for Better Performance
- How to Speed Up WordPress
- Broken Link Checker Plugin : This plugin will find all your broken links (internal and external) and fix them quickly.
WordPress Security:
If you would like to see any specific WordPress themes added to this WordPress guide, please let us know.
Don’t forget to subscribe to our email newsletter for more helpful tips, insights, and guides!
NOTE: In the spirit of full disclosure, this is an affiliate link, which means I may earn a commission if you decide to purchase anything from any of the companies mentioned. I only recommend products and systems that I use and like myself, so I know you'll be in good hands.
Disclosure: Some of the links in this article contain affiliate links, which means we may earn a commission if you click through to visit us, at no extra cost to you. See how SidelinePlay is funded, why it’s important, and how you can support us.
Was this helpful?