“Can I create my own WordPress website?”, someone asked. My answer? Absolutely you can!
Yes, Pink Toad Studio offers web design services. But creating a website with WordPress is not rocket science. If you’ve created your own small business, you can certainly create WordPress website.
How would you go about it? Get started with these steps…
You’ll need a Domain Name
A domain name is your website address. Most businesses try to get the yourbusinessname (dot) com one.
If you can’t get your exact name try abbreviations or initials. A lot of registrars will show you a list of alternatives if the one you want isn’t available.
Or try .org, .co or .ca instead of .com. There are some pretty creative ones available these days!
Have you got a logo?
WordPress uses a logo 200px high and as wide as you need it. If you don’t already have one, now is a good time to start designing!
Show your style
Fonts and colours can say a lot about your business.
Are you fun? Professional? Energetic? Calm? Comforting? There is a whole psychology behind colour and how people “feel” about websites. Choose wisely!
For fonts, I suggest 3. One for text, one for headers, and a script one to add pizazz.
Stay consistent with colours and fonts. It helps build trust with your website visitors.
Get some content ready
You Have 3 Seconds… Go!
The homepage of your website – if it’s not your blog – is the first chance you have to make an impression on a visitor to your site.
Research says you have less than 3 seconds to get a website visitor’s attention. What do you want to say to them on your home page?
What is it important that your potential client know about you? Make sure that’s front and centre.
Websites that you like the look of can be a great source of inspiration.
To Blog or not to Blog?
Will your website include a blog? A blog is a great way to connect with potential and existing customers.
Share information about your business. Maybe there’s a new trend or something exciting in the news. Maybe new products are being launched. A new location?
If you are going to include a blog, set up 2 or 3 blog posts ahead of launching your site. This will give you something to post as soon as your site is ready so it doesn’t look empty.
Spice up your website with some images
Make your pictures relevant to you and your business. If you sell office supplies, your main website image should not likely be a vintage pink Cadillac.
Have your own, good quality pictures? Use them! If not, sites like Unsplash.com have loads of free and paid pictures you can use.
Your website needs a home
A hosting service like Bluehost (that’s the one I use), gives your website a place to call home.
There are lots of options with lots of features and prices. Choose one that you trust.
If you’re just starting out, dont’ blow the budget on fancy features or extras. Keep it basic. You can always update later.
Install WordPress
Most hosting services offer a 1-click installation of WordPress. Others, automatically install WordPress for you after you enter your domain name.
Follow your hosting instructions to get WordPress up and running. Follow each step carefully and you’ll be done in no time.
Stuck on a step in the process? Reach out to your web host’s support team or Google the problem. It’s very likely that someone else has run in to the same thing. Don’t waste too much time trying to figure it all out on your own.
Choose Your Look
Now for the fun part – choosing a theme!
Try not to get overwhelmed. You only have to pick your first theme. You can change it later if you’d like.
Remember, the theme is just a framework. You can customize things to make it more “yours” once it’s installed.
Plugins give your more
You might want to consider adding some plugins to add functionality to your site.
There are four that I use on all my websites. See them in this blog post.
Don’t go too plugin happy, though. If you don’t really need it, don’t install it. Plugins can slow your site down or conflict with each other, so be careful.
Backups are your friend
After all that hard work, make sure you backup!
I like to create a backup every time I publish a blog post… just to be sure I don’t lose anything!
Test, test and test some more
Try every link on your menu and pages. Make sure they go where expected.
Then, check the final version of your website once more on different devices – just to be sure.
Time to launch!
Your WordPress site is ready. It’s time to let everyone see what you’ve been up to!
Well, what do you think? What was the answer to “Can I create my own website?”? Did you get a WordPress website set up for your business? I hope you had a lot less trouble than I had with my first one!
As great and easy a tool as WordPress is, there can be a learning curve. But, if you’re up for the challenge, the rewards are amazing!
Don’t think creating your own WordPress website is for you? Book a FREE, no obligation 1 hour call to chat about how we can help!
