Wordpress Website Development Process: Step by Step Guide

The topic of this article is how to create a unique WordPress website from scratch. Here are the nine steps you must take to plan the ideal website design.

 

Step 1: Pick a domain name

The domain name serves as your company's online identity. With the aid of your domain name, people will be able to recognize your company. As a result, you should be careful when selecting a domain name.

When choosing a domain for your company, keep the following factors in mind:

1. Pick a name that is simple to recall but challenging to forget. Additionally, choose a TLD (Top Level Domain) that fits your industry. The most popular TLDs include.com,.org,.net,.io, etc.

2. Having keywords in your domain is advantageous. But avoid stuffing your domain with keywords, as this will hurt your rankings. Your domain should intelligently combine a distinctive name and a keyword.

3. Choose a name that is adaptable so you can add different types of content to your website when you want to grow your company. For instance, choosing a domain like mybusiness. sydney and planning to grow your company to Melbourne, Paris, Boston, or London will be problematic.

4. Keep your domain names free of hyphens and double letters.

Since the.com TLD is the most well-known and allows for quick national and international expansion, it is frequently preferable to use it.

Your annual cost for a new domain name would be between $9 and $15. A discount is frequently offered by domain name registrars when multiple years of registrations are combined. For instance, you can save up to 30-40% or more if you reserve your domain name for 3 or 5 years.

 

Step 2: Get an SSL certificate

Obtaining an SSL (Secure Socket Layer) certificate is the next step after registering a domain name for your company.

The transmission of data from one server to another is encrypted by an SSL certificate. Data is shielded from thieves and hackers.

Additionally, Google slightly favors encrypted websites in its search results. Not to mention, an SSL will increase your website's credibility and security.

All SSL-enabled websites open in HTTPS. Internet addresses that do not start with HTTPS are flagged as insecure by Chrome and other browsers.

As a result, you should always purchase an SSL certificate from a reputable company like Comodo SSL, Digi Cert, Global Sign, etc.

Costs for an SSL certificate range from $8 to $30 per year.

 

Step 3: Choose a hosting provider

You can store your website content online with website hosting. Similar to the domain name, there are a number of things to take into account before choosing a web host for your company.

While a subpar web host will make your company's website slow, resulting in a poor user experience and lower conversions, a suitable web host can provide high speed and improved uptime.

You should consider price, customer service, uptime and downtime, security, and uptime when choosing a hosting service provider. You can select from five shared web hosting packages:

Multiple websites share your website's hosting space. Shared hosting is inexpensive and excellent for new users. Your website is hosted by multiple websites.

Hosting for virtual private servers (VPS): This plan provides more storage and better uptime. It is appropriate for companies that require more control but lack the funds for dedicated servers.

Dedicated hosting: With this type of hosting, you receive an entire server to store all of your files. The only website that is stored on that server is yours. As a result, you receive extremely high bandwidths and speed. But compared to VPS or shared hosting, dedicated hosting is more expensive.

Cloud hosting: This is the most recent hosting type that is gradually gaining popularity. You can store your files on multiple computers that are linked together under this plan. As a result, even if one of them fails, your visitors can still access your site. As a result, there is no downtime due to server failure.

Managed hosting: Your dedicated server is managed by the hosting company. If you don't have a dedicated team to manage your hardware and software setup, patching, regular updating, and monitoring, you can select this option. Managed hosting is more expensive than other types of hosting.

Best WordPress Hosting: Best WordPress Hosting for your website development process can significantly contribute to the success and effectiveness of your WordPress site by providing speed, reliability, security, and support tailored to the platform's specific requirements.

 

Step 4: Install WordPress

You should have your hosting panel information at this point. Now you must access your hosting control panel and install WordPress.

For example, if you choose Bluehost for your WordPress hosting, this is how you install WordPress:

Sign in to your Bluehost account and go to the 'My Sites' section.

Click 'Create Site' and enter a name for your site.

Enter your domain name and press the next button.

Your WordPress site will be installed by the WordPress installer.

You will receive WordPress login information via email after the installation. You can now access your WordPress admin area directly by going to yoursite.com/wp-admin.

 

Step 5: Select and install your WordPress theme

The real work begins now. You must select a theme for your WordPress site. You can select from a number of themes based on your company's requirements.

A blog, eCommerce, technology, entertainment, real estate, non-profit, education, and retail are all popular categories. You can find a suitable theme for your website in directories such as Themeforest or TemplateMonster.

If you intend to sell online, look for WooCommerce-based themes. WooCommerce is the world's most popular ecommerce platform, built on WordPress and designed specifically for the creation and management of online stores. WooCommerce is similar to Shopify, but it is open source, highly customizable, and very affordable.

After you've decided on a theme, you'll need to buy it. Most professional themes cost between $49 and $69, which you can easily afford.

After paying for your chosen theme, you will be able to download all of the theme files in a zip file. You must install them on your website. After that, go to your WordPress dashboard and select Appearance -> Themes.

Click 'Add New Theme,' then 'Upload Theme.' Install all of your zip files, as well as all of the sample posts.

You will have a website with demo posts at this point. You can now customize your theme to your liking. For example, if you use a specific font style, you must use it throughout your website. Changing the font style on each page will have an impact on the user's experience.

The font and color scheme you select must be appealing and easy to read. People will go to your competitor's site if you choose a font style that they can't read. To improve the user experience, consider using a simple font style with a contrasting color pattern.

You can consult with a WordPress development company or website design professionals when designing your website to ensure that it meets the needs of your customers. They can make changes to the website theme you've chosen.

 

Step 6: Create basic pages

You can finish your site quickly by adding basic pages and leaving the advanced configurations for later.

A homepage, a contact page, a service page, and a privacy policy page should all be present on every website.

Log in to your WordPress admin area and select 'add a new page.' You can name your page and add the necessary content here. Name it, then press the publish button. Then, add all of the required pages to your website.

After you've finished adding all of the pages, add them to your navigation menu.

You can change your menu by going to 'Theme Options' and then 'Navigation.' You can now delete the dummy pages and replace them with your newly created pages.

Remove any dummy pages or posts that may have come with your theme. At this point, your site should be up and running with 3-4 basic pages.

 

Step 7: Get the required plugins

Every WordPress website should have a few essential plugins to improve user experience and SEO in order to generate business leads.

Contact Form 7 is the most popular WordPress plugin for adding a contact form to your site, but Gravity Forms is an even more powerful and customizable form plugin.

Navigate to the Plugins section of your admin dashboard, click 'Add New,' and then search for the plugin. Now, please install and activate the plugin to add it to your site.

Check that the plugin you choose for your site is compatible with the current version of your WordPress site.

The Yoast SEO plugin is another excellent addition to your website. SEO plugins allow you to manage all of your SEO issues in real time.

The plugin handles technical SEO elements such as -robot.txt, site maps, clean permalink URLs, and. htaccess files. Yoast also checks the site for errors in order to assess the readability of the content and boost SEO.

However, don't stop there. Consider creating a Google Business Profile account and asking customers to leave reviews for your business. Check out this handy template for increasing your GMB reviews.

 

Step 8: Add a blog

A blog can be critical to the success of your online business. A WordPress blog provides several benefits to brands and businesses, including:

Branding: Create exciting content for your target market to help your brand gain trust and identity.

SEO: Increasing the domain rating of your website (DR).

Long-tail content will assist you in increasing the traffic to your website. You can target more relevant keywords to your business and improve your chances of ranking for them.

Shareability: refers to the ability to share your blog content on social media (Facebook, LinkedIn, Instagram, YouTube, Pinterest, Twitter, and so on) and in EDMs (email newsletters). Check out this useful guide on social media specifications.

Partnerships: If you have a blog with a growing audience and web traffic, it opens up opportunities for your brand to collaborate and form partnerships with other brands.

The location of your blog posts will be determined by the theme of your website. You can make the necessary changes to your settings. To begin adding new content to your site, go to your admin area and create a new post.

Read More on How SEO Works here.

 

Step 9: WordPress maintenance

Your work does not end with the launch of the website. It is also critical to maintain your new WordPress site properly.

The website will occasionally display errors in the Google Search Console. If you get stuck, consider hiring an expert as soon as possible to fix and resolve the issues.

You can also hire WordPress experts to perform routine site maintenance and troubleshoot issues such as server errors or core web vitals.

Author

reverbtime-magazine

Poland Web Designer (Wispaz Technologies) is a leading technology solutions provider dedicated to creating innovative applications that address the needs of corporate businesses and individuals.

Let’s Design Your New Website

Do you want to have a website that attracts attention and wows visitors? Then, we are prepared to assist! Contact us by clicking the button below to share your thoughts with us.