WordPress is one of the most common create-your-own blog and website tools available on the web. According to Yahoo! Small Business, WordPress hosts over one-sixth of all websites on the web. This efficient tool has over 60 million sites and is rapidly growing each day.
If the reasons in the previous paragraph weren’t enough to convince you, here are three more reasons why you should create your own WordPress and how to get started.
Three Reasons Why You Should Use WordPress:
- WordPress is 100% free to everyone, and anyone can start their own site.
While you can easily use a WordPress domain name for your site at absolutely no cost, Yahoo! Small Business recommends setting up a WordPress site with your own domain name. A personal domain name can easily be purchased through a hosting company, and will still allow you to manage your site through WordPress. This option can cost as little as $10 a month and also allows you to have much more flexibility with your site. However, if you are not ready to put money into it, then a WordPress domain name is a wise choice.
- WordPress allows you to update and manage your own site quickly and easily.
WordPress is an ideal tool for those who need to update their blogs and websites regularly. It offers an easy-to-read control panel for simple managing and many themes and settings to make your websites and blogs stand out. In fact, updating your site or posting new content can take as little as two minutes to complete.
Yahoo! Small Business also said that WordPress is an effective platform because you can easily, “…track site visits, fight spam, create contact forms, improve your site security, and many more things.”
- WordPress is a great way to engage with other bloggers.
According to WordPress, its site offers other blogs that might be of interest to its users and options to subscribe to these blogs. To easily engage with and gain attention from other bloggers, you can also read and comment on their posts in hopes of having them do the same for you. Another way to optimize your WordPress engagement is to mention and hyperlink other blogs in your own content. WordPress also offers a Search Engine Optimization (SEO) tool to increase your blog’s SEO through keywords and tags. Find how to set up your SEO plugin visit.
Three Ways to Create Your Own:
- Set Up Your Basic Login Info:
To get started on your own site and set up your site name, visit https://signup.wordpress.com/start/en/?step=step-home. Next, you will be asked to create a username and password that allows you to manage your site. After your basic information is entered, WordPress will ask you if you want a custom address. This costs money, however you can decline it and select the free option. Then you will be asked to choose a theme for your site. There are many themes to choose from; however, some of them are pricey, so look closely for the free ones. A benefit of WordPress is that you can preview all of the themes before you choose one. This ensures that you are 100 percent set on the one you decide to use.
- Choose Your Plan:
After deciding on your theme, which can be changed at any time, you will be asked to choose a plan for your site. You can choose the free plan, which allows you to run your own site but does not help give you personalized advantages. You can also choose the Premium Plan for $99 a year or the Business Plan for $299 a year. These paid plans provide you with your own domain name, more multimedia space, customization opportunities and other added luxuries.
It is important to remember that you can receive your own domain name and set up SEO plugins on your own without paying for these plans, as we mentioned above. SEO plugins are beneficial because they will help get more traffic to your site.
- Set Up Your Site:
Once you choose your plan, you will go to the page where you manage your site. You can then begin posting content!
To set up pages for your site, you will want to go into your WP Admin tab under “My Sites” at the top left-hand side of your screen. Then click on the pages and add all of your desired pages to your site. Your main page, which will already exist when you go to your pages, is where posts appear as you add new blog content. However, you may want to add additional pages. For example you could add an “about” page or a “contact” page, under this tab.
- Everything you want to change or add to on your site is all accessed under that WP Admin tab on your site dashboard. If you want to view your site, analytics, themes and more, you can click back on the “My Site” tab at the top left part of the screen.
- A quick tip: If you want to see what your site looks like to your viewers, just delete everything after WordPress in your URL search bar, and you will be taken to your site. This simply covers the basics of setting up a WordPress site; however, there is much more you can accomplish with this platform. To learn more check out these tutorials from ithemes.com: https://ithemes.com/tutorial/category/wordpress-101/
Savannah Fox
– Savannah Fox is a public relations major at the University of Oregon, graduating in June of 2015 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism. Originally from Santa Barbara, California, Savannah has loved her time in small cities; however, upon graduation she is excited to spread her wings, and move to the windy city to pursue her passion for public relations and marketing.
Danielle Friend
– Danielle Friend is a senior at the University of Oregon in the School of Journalism and Communication. She is majoring in public relations and minoring in business. She expects to graduate June 2015. Danielle is interested in the food, bev, travel and lifestyle areas of PR. She is from Encinitas, California.