If you are learning to make a website, the first thing you want to do is to purchase a domain name. After that, choose a web hosting company.
Domain Name
The domain name is the name of your website. For example, Yahoo’s domain name is www.yahoo.com. The cost is not monthly. It is an annual fee. It is about $13 for the year. You may be able to find discounts or lower prices.
Hosting
Hosting is a huge server that keeps your website up and running. The computer that hosts your website stays on for 24 hours per day. This allows anyone to gain access to your site even if your computer is off. The price ranges from $3.96 per month up to $10 per month for a single domain.
After you have registered with a hosting company, you will get an email from them. Keep that email in a safe place. You may want to print a copy. It contains pertinent information for your account.
If you only want one website, you can choose the low-cost plan. If you think you will have more than one website, select a plan with unlimited domains at the same hosting rate.
Install WordPress
Open the email and click the link to “Your Control Panel.” The link will take you to the control panel. Go back to your email. Copy and paste the UID and password onto the cPanel login screen.
After you have installed the software, you will see a link for WordPress. Before selecting the installation button, make sure that your website address gets listed next to HTTP://. It should be already there. If not there, type it in. Leave the box to the right of that blank.
For Admin Email, type the email address that you want to use for your website. Make sure that it is an email that you frequently use. You will get notifications regarding the Internet site via this email.
Blog Title is the title of your website. Type the name that you have chosen for your site there.
Admin User is the username for logging into WordPress Control Panel. Once you have set this name, you cannot change it, so make sure that it is a name that you like.
It will take a few seconds to install. After installation gets completed, it will say “Congratulations.” It will say “Ready Now.” If you have just set up your hosting account, it can take up to four hours before you can use the site.
You should see a link that will get you to your website. It will say, “Your installation is ready. It will take you to your website. You will see a pre-installed theme that comes with the package.
To make changes to the website, go to the top of the page in the Web URL. Right after “.com,” type: /wp-admin. Using Yahoo as an example, it would look like this: yahoo.com/wp-admin. Once you have typed that in, hit “Enter” or click the arrow to the right of the Web URL. It will take you to your dashboard.
You can bookmark the dashboard page once you have gotten there so you can have quick access in the future. Once you get to the login screen, copy and paste the UID and password from the email that you had gotten from the hosting company.
You are on the Dashboard where you can make changes to your website. To change your password, on the left side of Dashboard page, scroll down until you see “Users.” Click it. Hover over the username that you have set up. Click the “Edit” button.
Scroll down until you see the option to type a new password. If you do not get that option, the system will generate one for you, but it will be a lengthy password. Keep it somewhere where you can remember. The site will also email you your password.
When done, click “Update Profile.” Click “Dashboard” in the upper left-hand corner to bring you back to the dashboard.
Install a Theme
The theme is a layout of your website. It shows how your site will appear. It comes free with the hosting package.
To install a theme, on the left-hand side of the dashboard, scroll down and click “Appearance.” At the top, click “Install theme.” Scroll through the topics to see which one you prefer. You can change later if you prefer.
Once you have seen a theme that you like, right underneath it, click “Install Now.” After installation, click “Activate.” In the upper left-hand corner, it will give you the option to visit your website to show you what it looks like with the theme.
Add Pages
Go to the top left-hand side of the page to get back to your dashboard. On the left of the panel, you will see “Pages.” Click it to create a page. At the top, it will say “Add New Page.
You can add the “About Us” page first if you prefer. You can rearrange the pages later on. In the space provided, type “About Us” as the title of the page.
There is a space provided for you to type something about yourself or the website. Type something about yourself or the site in the space provided.
To create an image or picture of the “About Us” page, click “Add Media” from the menu above where you have written about yourself. Choose “Select Files.” You have the option to upload images from your computer, or use images from your library.
To choose an image from your computer, select “Upload Files” on the upper left-hand side. Click to open the picture. There is a display setting for the image on the right-hand side.
Choose whether you want your image to be left, center, or on the right side of the page. Pick the size, and then hit “Insert.” After that, click “Publish.”
In the upper left-hand corner, visit the website to see how the “About Us” page appears on the screen. To have the page name, such as “About Us” appear after the website name, go to the left of the dashboard. Hover over “Settings” and choose “Permalinks.” Scroll down and select “Post Name.”
The actual name of the website will show up in searches. Do this only once. It will take effect on all pages you create. For example, it will say “Yahoo.com/About-Us” instead of some weird characters after the domain name.
Contact Us Page
Follow the same instructions as the “About Us” page, but for the content, you want to add a form. In the space provided to type your info, select “Add Contact Form” from the menu.
It will list all the info needed for someone that has a question for you. It will show space for the name, website, email address, and space to type a comment.
If you need to add more information, press the “Return” button on your computer to get to a new line. You can add a telephone number or address. Most people use only the form.
This information is for visitors to your site. When done, click “Update” on the right-hand side. Always click “Update” whenever you have made any changes to the site.
If you would like to delete a page, on the left side of the screen, select “Pages.” Check the box next to the page. Click “Trash” to delete the page.
To organize the pages how you want them to appear, you need to create a menu. Go to dashboard. On the left side of the screen, hover over “Appearance.” Choose “Menu.” You can name the menu “Menu 1.” Click “Create Menu” from the right side.
On the left side, put a checkmark in the boxes next to the pages you have just created. Click “Add to Menu.” Click and drag the page in whichever order you want.
If you want one page appearing above another, click and drag that page on top of the other page. Do the opposite if you want the page to fall below the others.
Under “Menu Settings,” select “Header Menu.” Save the menu. Visit the website to see how the menu appears.
Create a Home Page
There was already a home page on the sample screen. To edit the existing home page, return to the dashboard. Hover over the “Appearance” link.
Then select “Menu.” Scroll down until you see “Custom Links.” Type your domain name next to “Link Text.” After HTTP://, type www.yahoo.com as an example. Type “Home” right next to “Link Text.” Choose “Add to Menu” below it.
After that, drag the “Home” menu up to the top so that it appears first on your page. Click “Save Menu.” Visit the site and you will see the “Home Page” appearing first on the list of menu items.
Customizing the Home Page
Go to the dashboard. Choose to customize your website. To change the name of your site along with the second name, click the arrow to the right of “Site Identity.” For “Site Title” type the name of your website.
Under it, you get to type a tag line. For example, if you call your site: Flowers By Mary, you can have a tagline that says “Unique Stem Roses.” Put a check in the box next to “Display Header Text.”
If you want your Home Page to be the first thing that anyone sees when visiting your site, click the arrow next to “Static Front Page.” Choose “Home Page.” That will be the first page anyone sees when visiting your website.
To add an image above the Home Page, go to “Pages,” on the left and select “Home.” Choose to edit the page. In the menu, select “Add Image.” Upload a picture from your computer.
You can type whatever text you prefer in the text box. You can visit other websites to get an idea what to include there. Save changes by clicking “Update.”
To Start a Blog
On the left-hand side of the dashboard, you will see a link for “Posts.” Hover over it and choose “Add New.” It will give you the option to place your post in a category. You can then start typing up your first blog.
In conclusion, if you are learning to make a website, to get your site up and running, choose a domain and then a web host. From there, you will get to install WordPress, which comes as a part of the hosting package,