Nowadays, if you want to stand out from the crowd it’s imperative to make your own website. Without a website, nobody will know that your business, blog, or resume even exists, considering most people nowadays turn to the Internet to find what they need.
Now, creating a website may seem daunting, however, there are several ways to make a website that don’t require you to spend hours learning how to code or hiring someone to do it for you.
How to Make a WordPress Website
One of the ways to make a website is with HTML templates. HTML templates are a great choice if you want to make a simple website that doesn’t require a lot of updating in terms of content. They're easy to install onto the hosting server, however, they do require you to edit HTML and CSS to change the content and adjust fonts, colors, and more.
Another way to make a website is by using WordPress and a WordPress theme. WordPress is a content management system that allows you to add content and adjust visual styles without modifying the code. It uses a beginner-friendly dashboard where you can create new posts and pages with a click of a button and change fonts and colors using sliders.
The best part about WordPress is that it's got a huge selection of plugins that allow you to add extra functionality to your site. Thanks to plugins, you can add contact forms, social sharing buttons, booking forms, display events, and so much more without having to code it yourself. WordPress also has a plethora of themes, both free and paid that you can use to get your site up and running quickly.
As such, WordPress can be used to make all kinds of websites such as restaurant websites, spa and beauty websites, wiki-style websites, directories, personal blogs, and more.
In this post, we’ll show you how to use a WordPress theme to make your website, how to customize it, and share a few tips to help you make your site even better.
Why You Should Use Premium WordPress Themes to Make Your Website
As mentioned above, there are both free and premium WordPress themes available. Free themes are great if you’re just starting out and don’t have a big budget for your website. However, they also come with a few disadvantages.
The first disadvantage of a free theme is that you can't count on support from the theme author. The second disadvantage of a free theme is that there's no guarantee that the author will continue updating the theme, which means you run the risk of your site being exposed to security threats because your theme is outdated. Lastly, you’ll also find less features in free themes than in a premium WordPress theme.
The best premium WordPress themes, on the other hand, come with a cost but the added cost is a worthwhile investment for your website. Authors who develop premium themes will provide you with support, which means you can ask for help and guidance if you run into problems while setting up your website.
They'll also regularly update their theme to ensure they remain compatible with WordPress whenever WordPress releases its own update. And finally, since the best premium WordPress themes are updated on a regular basis, you’ll run into fewer security risks, which means your site will be less likely to get hacked.
What You Need to Make Your Own Website
To make your own website, you'll need to decide on the domain name, choose a hosting plan where your site will be hosted, create and prepare text and images that will go on your site, and select a premium WordPress theme. Let’s go over these below.
1. Decide on a Domain Name
The first task on your list is to decide on a domain name for your website. If you’re creating a website for your resume, portfolio or freelancing skills, it’s a good idea to use your name as the domain name.
If you’re a registered business, the obvious choice is to use your business name. This not only reinforces your brand, but also makes it easy for your customers to remember your website.
The most popular extension is usually .COM, however, there are other extensions that are widely used such as .ME, .CO, .NET, and others. You can purchase your domain name separately from a hosting package, but you can also purchase it during the sign up for a hosting plan. In fact, most hosting providers will offer a free domain as a bonus.
2. Choose a Hosting Plan
A hosting company will host your website’s files and make it possible for anyone to access your website online. Hosting plans range from affordable shared hosting plans to more expensive managed WordPress hosting and premium dedicated servers.
If you’re just getting started, a shared hosting plan is a good choice. In some cases, you’ll be able to host unlimited websites and enjoy unlimited bandwidth and disk space. Some hosts will put a limit on the number of resources you can use and the number of websites you can host.
If you've got a slightly larger budget, consider managed WordPress hosting, especially if you don’t have the time or the know-how to maintain and update your website.
3. Prepare Your Content and Images
It’s a good idea to prepare your content and images that will go on your site. This will save you time as you won’t have to locate those files when the time comes to set up your site.
Your content will depend on the purpose of your site, but it can include things like website copy for about, services, history, and other pages you need, any blog posts you want to have ready, headshots, testimonials, team member bios, and similar.
4. Buy a Premium WordPress Theme
The last item on the list is a premium WordPress theme. To find the perfect theme, consider the type of website you’re creating and then take into consideration the visuals.
There are WordPress themes for almost every niche imaginable, so all you've got to do is enter your industry into the marketplace search bar. If you don’t see anything you like, you can also look for multipurpose themes which were designed to fit a variety of niches.
You’ll also want to make sure that the theme is responsive and has the features you’ll need such as a blog page, testimonial section, portfolio, featured images, parallax effect, and more.
How to Make Your Own Website With WordPress
Now that we’ve covered what you’ll need, let’s take a look at how you can use a premium WordPress theme to create your own website. For the purposes of this walkthrough, we’ll be using the Creatify theme. This theme is a great example of a multipurpose theme that has a clean and modern design and includes demo content that'll save you hours of time and manual setup.
We’ll begin by installing WordPress, the theme, and the plugins. Then, we’ll import demo content, and show you how to replace it with your own. We’ll also explain how to customize the theme.
1. Install WordPress
Installing WordPress is easy. Almost every hosting company offers a one-click WordPress install through their cPanel or dashboard. Begin by logging into your host’s dashboard and locate a section that says One-Click Installers, WordPress Install, Fantastico or Softaculous Software.
Once you find that section, look for the WordPress icon and select it. You’ll then need to enter your username and password that you'll use to log into your site along with some other information. After that, click the Install or Finish installation button and wait for WordPress to be installed.
When the installation has finished, you can visit your WordPress dashboard and enter the name and password you’ve set up for your WordPress site.
2. Install Your WordPress Theme
The next step is to install the WordPress theme you purchased for your site. In your WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance > Themes > Add new. Click the Upload theme button and follow the on-screen instructions to upload your theme. After the theme has been installed click Activate.
3. Install Required Plugins
Some themes, like Creatify, need certain plugins to have all of their functionality. In that case, you’ll see a notification in your WordPress dashboard, so go ahead and click the link that says Install required plugins.
On that page that loads, select all the plugins and choose Install from the drop-down menu, then click Apply. You’ll then need to activate those plugins by going to Plugins > All plugins > Inactive, selecting all inactive plugins and selecting the Activate option from the drop-down menu, and finally clicking Apply.
4. Import and Replace Demo Content
The next task on our list is to import and then replace the demo content. This will make it easier and faster to get the structure of website pages up and ready for you to insert your own content, rather than creating them from scratch.
To start, click the One-Click Demo Import button if you’re using the Creatify theme. On the page that loads, select the demo you want to import, check the boxes next to attachments, customizer settings, and sliders, and then press the Import Demo Data button.
With demo content imported, it’s time to replace it with your own. To do that, simply go to Pages > All pages and hover over a page name. You’ll then want to click the Edit link.
As you can see from the screenshot, the theme uses the Visual Composer page builder plugin. The benefit of this plugin is that you can easily add more elements by clicking the + icon.
You can also edit any existing blocks by clicking on the pencil icon and then deleting all of the demo content and inserting your own.
5. Customize Visual Appearance
The last step is to customize the visual appearance of your site. To do that, go to Appearance > Customize. Using the Live Customizer, you can add your own logo, choose your colors, set up the widgets, adjust the fonts, and more.
Top Five Tips to Make a Great WordPress Site
Now that we’ve covered, the basics of setting up your site, here are five more tips that'll help you make a great WordPress site.
1. Choose a Responsive Theme
When you’re shopping for the best premium WordPress themes, be sure to choose one that is responsive. Nowadays, almost every WordPress theme is responsive due to an increase in the number of people using their mobile devices to browse the Internet. A responsive theme has numerous benefits, such as providing your visitors with a better user experience, improving your conversion rate, and helping you rank better in search engines.
2. Opt for a Fast Loading Theme
When it comes to websites, speed matters. According to Kissmetrics, visitors prefer when a website loads in two seconds or less, so make sure to test how fast your website loads using a tool such as Pingdom Tools. You can then use their suggestions to improve those load times.
3. Add Social Sharing Buttons
Use a plugin like Easy Social Share Buttons for WordPress to make it easy for your visitors to share your site. This will help you gain more traffic to your site and get in front of more people.
4. Insert Email Sign Up Forms
You’ll also want to start growing your email list by adding a few email sign up forms to your site. You can add them as popups, slide-ins, below individual blog posts or in your sidebar and offer a checklist, a cheat sheet or a free PDF as an incentive for signing up.
5. Start a Blog
The last tip on our list is to start a blog. Not only does a blog help you improve your search engine rank, it also allows you to establish a better connection with your readers and potential clients by sharing your knowledge and demonstrating the benefits of working with you. They'll be able to get to know you better and once you’ve established your expertise, they'll be more inclined to hire you or buy from you.
Make Your Own Website With a Premium WordPress Theme
You've just learned how to make your own website. Creating your own website is easy thanks to tools like WordPress and the best premium WordPress themes. Start your website today by choosing the best premium WordPress theme and then follow our tutorial to set it up and make it great.
