Have you recently thought about creating a business of your own? It’s fairly easy to learn how to make a website and this article will teach you the basics. To narrow down the focus a bit, I’m going to discuss how to create a website using the free open architecture script called Wordpress.
We will jump ahead and assume that you already have an idea and name for your website. The first thing you will want to do is purchase your domain name i.e. www.example.com and web hosting. It’s up to you where you go for hosting but if you haven’t already decided which web hosting company you plan on using, I would strongly recommend signing up for a personal or reseller account with hostgator. After you have purchased your domain name and hosting you will be ready to install Wordpress.
Because I have created so many Wordpress sites in the past, I have developed a method that works quite well to get listed in Google quickly in addition to providing all the features that will be most important in building web traffic. When I improve upon my method, I will try to update this list as quickly as possible.
The following is a list of steps that I usually follow when creating a website :
Install Wordpress
Take a moment to install the latest version of Wordpress on your domain name. Most websites give you a control panel called “cpanel,” in the backend there should be a feature called fantastico that will give you the ability to install the latest version without knowing a lot about computers and webmaster stuff… If you use my recommended hosting provider you will definitely be able to go this route and the installation should only take a minute at most.
Download and Install a Wordpress Theme
The next step will be to access the backend of your new wordpress website by using the instructions provided at the end of the installation process. Generally you will be able to get to the master control area by typing in your domain name followed by /wp-admin
Here you will have the ability to tinker with your new website and if you click on the appearances button you will be able to upload a new theme. Search the web for free themes or purchase a premium theme to give your site some personality. In my opinion, the best theme for Wordpress is called Thesis, it costs about $80 and it was developed by Chris Pearson.
Keep in mind that the themes available for free should work just fine but it is definitely worth upgrading down the road if you plan on making a living from your website/blog.
Install Wordpress Plugins
If you click on the button entitled plugins on the left hand side of the admin control panel, you will be able to see several options below. Click the link entitled “installed” and you will see a plugin that is inactive called Askimet. This is extremely important as it will help you eliminate spam comments. Click on activate and it will take you to a screen that asks for your wordpress API key. Follow the instructions to obtain your key and activate Askimet.
The following are plugins that I usually install on my Wordpress websites:
Add Post Footer
Adsense Manager
Askimet
All-in-one Bookmarking Button
All in One SEO Pack
Broken Link Checker
cForms II
Collapsible Archive Widget
Comment Email Responder
Dofollow
Enforce www. preference
Google Analytics for WordPress
Google XML Sitemaps
Privacy Policy
WordPress Database Backup
WP-Affiliate
WP125
WP Security Scan
These are all plugins that you should be able to find and install for free with a little bit of searching in Google and a minute or so for each installation. After you get these third party plugins installed, you will want to spend time reviewing each of them and making sure to customize the settings.
One of the first ones I like to get up and running is the Google Analytics for WordPress plugin. If you haven’t created an account with Google Analytics, it is free to join and you will need to get it up and running so you can copy and paste your id into the settings for the plugin to work correctly.
Register Website with Search Engines
This part is extremely important and should not be overlooked. It is not wise to use the add url feature for search engines as it will most likely slow down the process of getting your website indexed. Instead, let me teach you a trick that professional webmasters use to get their websites indexed quickly.
In the last segment you should have activated the Google XML sitemaps plugin and built your first xml sitemap by clicking the build button in the settings.
Update Google with Sitemap
Take a moment to go to the Google Webmaster Tools page and add your website and sitemap. The following is the URL that will get you there…
http://www.google.com/webmasters/tools/
Update Yahoo with Sitemap
Go to the Yahoo! Site Explorer and take a minute to register your domain/website and place your sitemap on file:
http://siteexplorer.search.yahoo.com/
Update MSN Live with Sitemap
Bounce over to the MSN Live Webmaster Tools page and take a few moments to notify them of your website and sitemap:
http://webmaster.live.com/
After you have installed your plugins and updated the three major search engines with your sitemap, you are ready to begin the process of adding content to your website. Take a minute to delete the test post and comment in the backend and spend some time working on your about page.
If you have followed these instructions your website/blog has more functionality than most. In addition, your website has a major advantage in regard to search engine optimization when you utilize the All in One SEO Pack on individual posts. If any of this is over your head, I offer consulting and installation services in addition to coaching, feel free to use my contact page to inquire about my rates.
If you have found this article useful, please consider bookmarking this tutorial and consider linking to it using the anchor text “How to Make a Website with WordPress.”
