It’s alright to admit when you’re at a loss. Few topics in this industry are as intimidating and confusing as building a WordPress site from scratch. Not only that, but you’re expected to know how to build it with conversions in mind? As if web design wasn’t complex enough.
Although it’d be easy to dive into every minor detail here, there’s a strong chance we’d end up with a 5,000 word article that was more draining than helpful. Instead, we’ll be covering everything, but we’re going to break the process down into three basic components:
- Setup
- Functionality
- Style
By the end of this guide, you’ll not only understand how to build a WordPress site from the ground up, but how to ensure that it turns potential clients into paying clients.
How to setup a WordPress site
The way you setup your WordPress site is absolutely critical to the success of your conversion efforts in the future. Mercifully, these first few steps are actually pretty straightforward:
How much will a WordPress site cost?
The answer to the question of ‘how much will it cost?’ can be answered once you’ve decided what kind of business you’ve got. If you’re dealing with hundreds of thousands a year, you’ll probably be able to spend some of that money on a business website every year. If you’re looking at a modest small business budget, don’t worry. You can build a typical business website for as low as $100.
Truth be told, you’re going to want to start small. Even with this strong guide at your disposal, it’s inevitable that you’ll want to change something down the line. It would be a tragedy if you spent hundreds of thousands of dollars only to then change your mind and flush that money down the drain.
Find and register a domain name
If you’re like most users, then a self-hosted WordPress.com site is going to be your ideal starting point. There are a few reasons for this, but the only one you really need to care about at this point is the fact that you’ll have access to thousands of add-ons and plugins down the line.
At this point, it’s worth mentioning that while WordPress itself is free, you’ll have to pay for your own domain name and hosting
. If you’re not familiar, a domain name is just the name of your website (yelp.com, for example). It’s how people will be able to find you online. A good rule of thumb is to stick with the .com version of a domain name. The simpler the name you choose the better. You can also use an expired domain in your niche. It will give you a headstart as it will already have pre-built authority and backlinks. Just make sure you choose a brandable domain name too. This, way your domain name is memorable. You can make use of tools like domain name generators to generate brandable domain name ideas.
Choosing web hosting
The WordPress Hosting is where the website files end up getting stored. All websites need this, and you can think of this as the place your website links with the rest of the internet. There are multiple hosting providers you can choose from, like NameHero, Bluehost, HostGator, SiteGround, and more. This often overlooked step is important, because not all hosting sites are created equally. Be sure to compare hosting features like cost, load time, uptime, PHP hosting-capable, customer service observability metrics, and the CMS you’re going for, whether you like to host WordPress or other services. Since it can become very overwhelming to learn about so many technical web hosting features, you can cut down on your hardwork by using this guide on best web hosting for small business.
Once you’ve decided on a domain name and hosting, you can go ahead and purchase both. Additionally, considering virtual private servers or VPS for rent can offer a flexible and scalable hosting solution tailored to your business needs.
Installing WordPress
Once you’ve handled all of that, it’s time to finally install WordPress. This process can take a bit of time, but fortunately, it’s pretty intuitive. Once you’re done, you’ll be able to head to the WordPress login page and you can login to your WordPress site using the admin username and password you entered earlier.
WordPress site functionality
- Selecting your theme
- Creating pages in WordPress
- Customizing with plugins
- Call to action
Selecting your WordPress theme
The typical advice given here is to focus on getting a free theme because they’re not awful and they’re free. While you can certainly get started with one just to keep the process moving swiftly, those themes are nothing compared to a customized WordPress design (something we’ll get into in our style section).
Creating pages in WordPress
It’s not much of a website if it doesn’t have any other pages than a loading page. Since we’re looking to add content to our site, we need to understand what our options are. Essentially, there are two default content types: posts and pages. Posts are part of a blog and appear in reverse-chronological order (newer items displayed first).
Pages, on the other hand, are meant to be a static type of content, like an FAQ or privacy policy page. You’re given a lot of default options when you first start, but you’ll be able to change that soon enough.
As you’re creating new pages and posts, take the time to familiarize yourself with the WordPress admin area (since you’ll be spending plenty of time with this anyway over the years). Depending on the type of business you’re running, you’ll want to create pages for topics like:
- Home
- Services
- Contact
- FAQ
- Blog
Customizing with plugins
Finally, you’ll have access to some of the more interesting and fun aspects of WordPress. Currently, there are almost 50,000 free plugins available for WordPress. There are of course tools like the Easy Social Share Buttons, which are premium (read: not free) plugins. But they’re well worth the money, with plugins like this encouraging engagement and increasing the likelihood of conversion.
So which plugins are essential to your WordPress site? Well, there three that we can think of that no site should ever go without.
- WPForms Lite: Allows you to add a contact form to your site
- Yoast SEO: Improve your WordPress SEO and get more traffic from Google
- Sucuri: Website security audit and malware scanner
Call to action
The final piece of the functionality puzzle, and yet so many business owners forget how important it is. Building a site is good, and building an impressive site is better, but those prospects aren’t going to convert themselves.
Let’s be absolutely clear: you can’t expect to convert without a strong CTA. Getting the attention of potential customers is important, but being able to leverage that attention into conversions is what makes all the difference for your business. Using something as simple as a Call to Action button plugin can help turn a prospect into a genuine lead.
Choose the style for your WordPress site
The importance of custom WordPress design
Getting yourself off the ground with a basic theme is alright just to get the site up and running, but you’ll want to transition to the custom WordPress Design soon. The reality of custom WordPress Design is that choosing this option sets your site apart from the competition in a major way.
If you’re wondering what the difference is, it’s pretty straightforward. On one hand, you’re guessing at what looks good and what ‘should’ work. With the custom WordPress Designer, you’re dealing with a professional who understands the art of design. They’re looking at color schemes, typography and considering the status of your brand identity.
They’ll start from scratch, work with you to understand your company and make sure that you end up with a completely unique website designed to match and serve your needs.
Nothing in web design exists in a vacuum. That CTA might seem like a minor component, but everything else in the site exists to support it. By building a genuinely impressive WordPress site with reliable WordPress Hosting that consistently encourages visitors to take that next step, your business will be one step closer to turning that ‘maybe’ into a ‘yes’.
Want more?
Try our WordPress logo maker or check out these articles on DesignCrowd:
Tips On How To Create The Best UI/UX For Your Website
8 Ways Your Website Can Make More Sales
How To Build A High Performance Lead Generation Website
How To Ensure You Website Redesign Has A Positive Impact
Written by Eric Sachs on Wednesday, August 2, 2017
Eric is an SEO virtuoso and the CEO at Sachs Marketing Group. He’s focused on being of service to business owners – helping to better position them in the eyes of their audiences. Follow Eric on Facebook, Twitter, Google+, and Instagram