Before you start learning how to use WordPress, you should install it first. There are two ways to doing that, and you should choose the one which best suits you. In this article, we will discuss both ways.
Before we do, you should be aware that there is an option for building a WordPress website very fast and a zero cost to you. You also avoid the hassles of downloading anything at all. You do this, by creating your site on the WordPress website at wordpress.com.
If that will be your choice you can have a free website up and running within an hour, nevertheless, you should take into consideration the fact that you will be very limited in what you can do with it. You wouldn’t have full control of what you can do with it. FTP is one example is out, as you cannot use it to access your files. Therefore, you cannot make changes to most of the design. Advertising is rampant and to get rid of them you need to pay to have them removed. You are limited to the themes you can use as you have access to those they offer or paid for one by their partners. You can’t get or create custom themes for yourself.
However, in our eyes, the worst ting is that your domain will have WordPress in it i.e. www.YOURDOMAIN.wordpress.com. The domain name tells your customers you haven’t the cash to invest in getting a website. So, why should they buy your products and services? That is a stigma that you can’t shake or want.
If you install WordPress and get control of almost all the functionality and you control your domain name.
Install WordPress on a live server
Eventually, your website needs to have a home of its own. That way people can access it and Google can see it and add it to the rankings. You then appear on mobiles, office desktops, and tablets/PCs in people’s homes.
Choose an Internet Service Provider (ISP) for your hosting
You should open an account with one of the many Internet Service Providers out there. Choose a hosting plan you can live with, and for around $3-$20 dollars a month you have a site suitable for an SME. (Small to Medium Enterprise) With that, you get Internet connectivity enough bandwidth to support your expected traffic. In our companion category, entitled “Hosting” we review some excellent ones out there and go over their different hosting plans.
Your Dream Website Awaits!
Get a domain name
You hosting service will often offer you one for free or at a nominal fee. You can also purchase one that you want from various other sites that own the name you want. You then obtain the setup info, the DNS naming, and send the information to your hosting service.
Why would you do it this way?
- Many people stake out their domain name, early on in the design phase and only after they get an ISP, do they need to have it implemented.
- Another reason is a thing called “domain squatting,” where people buy up domain names, hold onto them as they think they will want them in the future, and then can ask any price they want.
- Perhaps, you’ve gotten the domain name you want from another source at a lower price.
installing WordPress
After doing the above, installation of Word Press is anticlimactic. You have your domain name and your hosting service, and now you click to the WordPress site and look for the button that says, “One Click Install” or something worded in that way (WordPress changes their screen’s content from time to time.) Then like in Alice in Wonderland with the bottle that says “Drink Me” the magic happens. You answer a series of questions, and when finished, you have an account with WordPress, your website is created, and are up and running or reworked in any fashion you desire.
The second approach is to create a virtual server on your PC. Click on the link here, and you will link to our article on how to set things up that way with WordPress and to get a local server to work on your PC. See you there if you are interested.
