The 7 Essential WordPress Basics Every Blogger Should Know
The 7 Essential WordPress Basics Every Blogger Should Know
You may not understand every aspect of wordpress, but you for sure need to know the wordpress basics. Understanding them will set you apart; we promise.
Keyword(s): wordpress basics
Want to create a winning blog that delights and dazzles your future audience? Well, WordPress (WP) is the place to do it. This web-building behemoth powers almost 36% of the entire internet.
And for good reason! Few content management systems boast the simplicity, functionality, and versatility of WP. These attributes make it the go-to platform for anybody starting a new website or blog. Nevertheless, with endless and ever-changing terms, features, and functions to wrap your head around, it can feel like a total maze for newbies to the game.
That’s why we’ve put together this list of WordPress basics. Learning these fundamentals should help you progress on the platform and lay the foundations for future success. Sound good?
Read on for 7 essential WordPress basics to know and do as a brand new blogger.
1. What Is WordPress?
In technical lingo, WordPress is a website builder and CMS that draws on a MySQL database! Put simply, though, WP is a clever piece of publishing software that enables anyone to create a website/blog with no prior computer expertise.
It’s also open-source, which is important. It means that the original code used to create WP has been made available to anybody. That, in turn, affords you total control of your websites to edit them as you see fit.
2. Why WordPress?
There are many reasons for the popularity of WP online (a few of which we mentioned in the intro). However, a two of its primary positive qualities relate to price and practicality.
You can get started on WP for free! You can get started at no cost, which is great for anybody who wants to experiment with the platform before paying for it.
WP is easy as well. Head to their website, click a few buttons, and voila- you have a brand new site/blog. That ease continues when you’re up and running too. Master the basics and you soon realize that running a WP site couldn’t be simpler.
3. Pick & Register a Domain Name
Choosing your domain name is a sensible place to start when setting up your WordPress site. This is what your website will be known as, which makes it an important branding tool (not to mention an aspect of search engine optimization).
Try to pick one that’s short, sweet, and based on your specific blog.
For example, a travel blog for under-30’s might choose ‘travelforfun.com’, or ‘lovelifetraveling.com’. When you’ve decided yours, head to Google and purchase/register the domain through the many domain services you’ll find.
Top tip: we suggest buying a ‘.com’ domain. These are often given priority online compared to others (such as .org, .net, or country-specific domains such as .co.uk), which is good news for future rankings and traffic levels.
4. Organize Hosting
It’s true that you can get started on WordPress for free. However, for full control and flexibility of your website, it’s important to arrange hosting. And that does come at a small financial cost.
In brief, web hosts provide you with the technology required for any website to be viewed online. You pay them to store your site on their servers, which enables it to be searched for and see on the internet. Things can start getting somewhat technical at this point…
However, the main thing to know about hosting is that you need it! There’s no shortage of possible providers out there- each with different fees, pros, and cons. Try to find a reputable host that falls within your budget while providing the right plan for your needs.
5. Choose a Theme
At this point, you’ll have downloaded WordPress and organized your hosting. Now the fun can start- it’s time to choose a ‘theme’!
Your theme dictates the aesthetic side of your website. It impacts the look, the design, the vibe, and how people navigate around the blog too.
Don’t get too caught up with picking the perfect one though. WordPress has an inordinate number of themes to choose from, which often causes new bloggers a world of trouble. It’s easy to spend hours scouring through them all to see which one you like best.
Want our advice? Choose fast and get cracking with content creation. You can always change the theme at a later date.
6. Install Essential Plug-Ins
Your WordPress website will work well from the outset. However, there may come a time when you need added abilities that you may not get ‘out of the box’.
That’s where plug-ins come into play. Whether you pick from the plethora of free options or pay for the high-end ones, these clever software add-ons help are designed to enhance the capabilities of your website. From adding beautiful contact forms to in-depth analytics, there’s literally a plug-in for every possible need.
Plug-ins are a great example of WordPress’s versatility and customizability. Depending on the one(s) you install, you can bring your site in line with your requirements and enjoy newfound functionality.
7. Learn SEO and Start Blogging
Anybody who wants to run a successful WordPress blog has to get to grips with search engine optimization (SEO). This is the practice of creating pages and posts that search engines can easily find, understand, and rank online.
Now, SEO’s a huge topic! Yet it’ll pay major dividends if you invest in your understanding of it. Creating blog posts with SEO in mind is the best way to get large numbers of people to read them.
With everything else sorted, all that’s left to do is start writing. Publish large numbers of high-value, SEO-focused articles, and you should see success in no time.
Don’t Forget These WordPress Basics
More than a third of the internet is powered by WordPress these days! That startling statistic highlights the immense popularity of WP and should give any budding blogger confidence that it’s the right choice for their new site.
Are you about to start a new blog? Well, we hope the WordPress basics in this post will help you get started. There’s a lot to learn, but you’re sure to be one step ahead with these tips and insights under your belt.
Looking for professional help developing the perfect WP website for your audience? We can help. Contact us today to find out how.