Building a website with WordPress might seem overwhelming at first, but it’s easier than you think. You don’t need to be a developer or have any design experience to create a site that looks great and works well.
In this guide, I’ll walk you through the entire process, step by step. You’ll learn how to set up your site with WordPress, customize it to fit your needs, and even add new functionality to it – all without writing a single line of code. Plus, I’ll share budget-friendly tips to help you keep costs low while still getting professional results. Let’s get started!
How to build a WordPress website
Key Takeaways
- Sign up for web hosting (we recommend Bluehost).
- Register a domain name with your host.
- Install WordPress using one-click installer.
- Pick a WordPress theme that suits your style.
- Customize the theme with your branding.
- Install key plugins to enhance functionality.
- Create main pages such as Home, About, Contact.
- Set up a user-friendly navigation menu.
- Launch your website and promote it!
The process I’m laying out has just eight steps – that’s all it takes to build a professional-looking WordPress website.
We’ll start by choosing the right platform, picking a domain name, and finding a reliable hosting service. Then, we’ll set up WordPress, customize your site with themes and plugins, and get it looking just the way you want. Finally, we’ll cover how to create engaging content so your site is ready to launch. By the end, you’ll have everything you need to go live with confidence. 💪
📕 Would rather read an ebook? Download the complete guide here: “How to Create a Website With WordPress” [PDF]
💬 FAQs about how to make a WordPress website
Step 1: Choose WordPress as your website platform
There are many platforms you can use to build a website, and most of them fall under the category of Content Management Systems (CMS).
A CMS is designed to make website creation simple, even if you have no coding experience. It gives you an easy-to-use interface – similar to what you’d find on Facebook or Google Docs – where you can create and edit content just like writing a document. Once you’re ready, you publish it to the web with a few clicks.
There are over 100 different CMS options out there 1, but choosing the best one is easy. One platform stands above the rest: WordPress.
Here’s why building a website using WordPress is the right move
- it’s free
- it’s open source
- it’s the ultimate DIY solution for non-pros
- it’s extra versatile – can run any type of website
- it’s fast, optimized, and secure
- it’s SEO-ready
- it makes promotion on social media easier
WordPress powers 43.6% of all websites (latest data). That means about one in three sites you visit is built on WordPress, making it the clear leader in the industry. 🎓 If you want to learn more about the WordPress project itself, you can go to its official home at WordPress.org.
🚧 Shortcut: Here are the fastest ways to set up a new WordPress website:
If you’re building a real, live website for your business or project, the quickest way to get started is by signing up with Bluehost. During registration, you can simply check a box, and they’ll install WordPress for you – no setup hassle, no technical steps. That means you can jump straight into working on your content and design.
Plus, Bluehost includes a free domain name for the first year, making it an even better deal. And all of this starts at just $1.99 per month.
Build a WordPress site with BluehostThis is a very similar arrangement to the one presented a second ago through Bluehost. The main difference here is that DreamHost’s tool is even more beginner-friendly and allows you to craft your WordPress website through drag-and-drop interfaces right from the start.
Check out the DreamHost website builderAnother similar solution – again, it’s Hostinger who installs WordPress for you and gets the initial setup all done. Additionally, Hostinger’s offer allows for setting up even up to 100 websites on one account for a single low price of $2.24 / mo.
Set up your WordPress site on HostingerStep 2: Pick a name for your website, buy a domain & hosting
Choosing a name for your website is one of the most exciting parts of the process. You have complete freedom to pick anything you want – but there are a few things to keep in mind to set yourself up for success.
With nearly 2 billion websites already online 2, finding something original can be a challenge. A good approach is to base your website’s name (and domain) on your organization’s name or a phrase related to your niche, with a unique twist for better branding.
A strong domain name should be:
- Brandable – unique and different from anything else out there
- Easy to remember – so people can find you again effortlessly
- Short – the fewer characters, the better
- Simple to spell – you don’t want visitors mistyping it
- Relevant to your niche – for example, if your site is about pizza, having “pizza” in the name makes sense (this applies to non-pizza industries too! 🍕)
Here’s a quick tool to check if your desired domain name is available:
If you have no idea which domain you want to get, then go straight to our no.1 generator – DomainWheel and see how it can help you.
Start by inputting a seed keyword that defines your website well:

DomainWheel will come back with some suggestions. You can narrow it down from there to find your perfect domain name.
The next step, once you know which domain name you want, is to register it and also buy a hosting package in one go. Let’s take care of that next:
a) Buying your domain name and hosting
💡 Note. While things like buying a hosting package might sound intimidating at first, there’s really nothing to worry about. The process I’m presenting here is simplified and doesn’t require you to do any technical heavy-lifting.
There are tens if not hundreds of different companies that can register a new domain name for you. Then, there are also tons of companies that can sell you a hosting package…
But let’s not complicate things for ourselves and instead get everything from a single company – and in one go.
We’re going to use Bluehost. Here’s why:
- Bluehost is a reputable web host that’s optimized for WordPress and will make sure that your website operates with no hiccups.
- It’s one of the few companies recommended on the official WordPress.org website.
- It’s cheap to get started with (from $1.99/month).
- You get a domain name for free for the first year.
- It’s easy to use and beginner-friendly.
Here’s what’s going to happen now:
- We’re going to go to Bluehost and pick a hosting plan for our website.
- We’re going to register a custom domain name with Bluehost as well (that is a free domain name).
- We’re going to tell Bluehost to install and configure a clean version of WordPress on our new hosting setup.
- We’ll walk out with a 100% operational WordPress website!
Let’s get started – this is how to make a website:
First, click here to go to Bluehost. Once on the page, click on “Get Started Now.”
Bluehost will show you the plans it has available.
In most cases if you’re launching a new site, the cheapest plan – called Basic – is going to be enough:
In the next step, enter the domain name that you’ve decided to get for your site:

Check and confirm the parameters of the hosting setup that you’ve chosen:

Next, provide your personal data:

At this stage, you can click on “SUBMIT PAYMENT” and finalize your purchase.
Step 3: Install WordPress and get familiar with the interface
Installing WordPress is one of the easiest things to do – provided that you’ve signed up with the right web host! The top hosting companies, will actually handle the installation process for you, or will give you a handy one-click-install option, which takes literally a minute to go through.
The process I’m going to show you below is based on Bluehost’s interface. One of the reasons it’s our top recommended host for WordPress is because of how easy it makes the entire setup. However, if you’ve chosen to go with another host then I’m still not going to leave you hanging here! Just go ahead and jump to our other guide that goes through all the possible scenarios on how to install WordPress on other platforms.
Now for the fun part! The best thing about “installing WordPress” is that you don’t actually have to do it yourself. Why bother when someone else can handle it for you and for free, right?
Here’s how it works:
After signing up with Bluehost, you’ll get an email with details on how to log into your account. Once you’re in, Bluehost provides a simple setup wizard that walks you through installing WordPress on your setup. It’s quick, hassle-free, and gets you straight to the important part – building your website.
To get started, go into Websites and then click on ADD SITE:

Bluehost will ask if you’re creating a new site or transferring over an existing one:

All that Bluehost needs at this stage to install WordPress for you is the name of your new site and the username/password that you want to use when managing it later on.

Once you’ve completed the wizard, your site is installed and ready to go!
Log in to the main dashboard
You can now log in to your WordPress user panel if you go to YOURDOMAIN.com/wp-admin/
This is what you’ll see:

Use the access credentials that you’ve set up on Bluehost in the previous step.
After logging in successfully, you’ll see the main WordPress interface in all its glory:

- (1) Welcome message – Some of the most important areas of the admin panel listed as quick shortcuts links – these are usually your shortcuts to how to make a website.
- (2) The current status of your site and what’s going on with it.
- (3) Posts – go here to create blog posts.
- (4) Media – upload/manage images and other media files here.
- (5) Pages – go here to create sub-pages.
- (6) Comments – this is where you can moderate comments.
- (7) Appearance – change your site’s design here and/or customize how certain things are displayed on the current design.
- (8) Plugins – install new plugins here.
- (9) Users – manage user accounts that can access the admin panel of the website.
- (10) Settings – the main settings.
At this stage, it’s good to take care of some basic getting-started WordPress settings that will improve your experience further down the road. Here they are:
a) Set your website title and tagline
Go to Settings → General and set the Site Title and Tagline fields to what you want.
Your site title and tagline might appear in various places throughout the site. Some WordPress themes display those on the homepage and in the SEO description – which Google uses when listing your website on the results pages.
The tagline is optional – you can leave it blank if you don’t have one for the site. However, it’s always part of the web design process, so it’s nice to come with u suitable one.
b) Make your site public
I guess you want Google to be able to find and index your website. To make sure that’s the case, go to Settings → Reading, and make sure that the box labeled “Discourage search engines …” is unchecked.

c) Set your time zone
Setting your time zone correctly will make publishing new pages and posts more predictable.
Generally, you want to set the time zone to either where you’re at or where your target audience is at. Whichever makes more sense.
You can set the time zone in Settings → General.
☝️☝️☝️ Those were your ABCs – the must-do in order to set up your site correctly from a visibility perspective on the web.
👇👇👇 The additional steps below are more optional , but it’s still a great idea to take care of them as well:
d) Set permalinks
Permalinks define how the individual web page addresses – aka URLs – are structured within your site.
The most optimized structure is to have the page’s title in the URL. For example, your “About” page (more on that page later on) should be available under something as simple as YOURSITE.com/about
. Setting the permalinks correctly will allow you to achieve that.
To set your permalinks, go to Settings → Permalinks from the main sidebar in your WP dashboard.
Once there, select this setting:

e) Allow or disable comments
Whether or not you want to accept comments on your website is up to you.
On the one hand, letting readers leave their opinions and questions under your articles/pages can be great for building a community around the website. But, on the other hand, you’ll also have your hands busy dealing with spam and making sure that there’s no trolling. It’s sometimes better to leave the contact page as the primary channel of communication.
Whether you’ll end up allowing or disabling comments, it can be done in Settings → Discussion.

f) Disable pingbacks and trackbacks
I don’t know why this setting is even still in WordPress. It’s mostly a leftover from back in the day when pingbacks and trackbacks were a thing.
Though, if you want to learn how to make a website in this day and age, you can simply deactivate them by deselecting the following setting in Settings → Discussion.

With the basic settings out of the way, we can get to the fun stuff:
Step 4: Pick a theme / design for your website
The great thing about WordPress is that it works with interchangeable designs – called themes.
Meaning, you can change the way your WordPress website looks with just one click.
For example, this is what a WordPress website looks by default, right after the installation:

I think we can all agree this doesn’t look like much.
But then with just a couple of clicks (and with a free theme called Neve), we can get it to look like this:
Here’s how:
a) Pick a theme that you like
As I mentioned, WordPress themes are ready-made design packages that control how your website looks. You can install one in seconds, switch to a different one later, and customize it as needed.
The right theme depends on your website’s purpose – whether you’re selling products, starting a blog, moving your business online, or setting up an ecommerce store. The key thing to remember is that themes don’t affect your content, only how it’s presented.
There are thousands of WordPress themes available. The official WordPress.org directory alone offers 13,000+ of them. Beyond that, you’ll find even more on third-party sites and premium theme marketplaces like ThemeForest, or even right here on Themeisle.
While paid themes offer advanced features, free themes are often a great starting point. Many come packed with impressive tools and customization options at no cost.
So how do you pick the right theme? The truth is, you don’t need to overthink it. The theme you choose today isn’t a permanent decision – you can always change it later with just a few clicks.
To keep things simple, we’ll use one of our most popular free themes, Neve, to walk you through the process.
ℹ️ Note: Neve is just an example. There are plenty of other great free themes for different types of websites – business sites, blogs, travel pages, food blogs, and more. The installation steps are the same no matter which one you choose.
b) Install your theme
If you want to install a free theme, go to Appearance → Themes from your WordPress dashboard and click on Add New Theme.

From there, input the name of the theme that you want to install, and then click on Install / Activate when the theme’s listing shows up:

Neve is one of those themes that offers some excellent onboarding for new users.
For example, it comes with a selection of starter designs, which you can simply pick from the menu:

From there, you’ll get to pick from a range of optimized homepage and website designs. Some of them are available only in the paid version of the theme, but there’s also more than enough free options:
If you like any of them, just click on it and you’ll be shown a simple panel for some added customization and an option to import the design at the bottom:

As soon as you click that Continue button, Neve will fetch the entire design and import it to your site. It takes roughly 30 seconds of wait time to get it all done. After that, your whole website will have its new look ready!
c) Customize the theme
While the out-of-the-box design might be already quite nice, you should still look over some basic customizations to make it fit your needs hand-in-glove.
To begin, go to Appearance → Customize. You’ll see the main WordPress Customizer interface:

From there, you can fine-tune a load of things. We’ll start with the header, since it’s where most people will want to tune up their site logo and name.
Modifying the header
From the Customizer menu that you can see in the image above, click on Header. This will reveal a new level of the menu:

There’s a lot going on here, but let’s just focus on two things:
- Changing your site logo
- Realigning the header elements
When you click that Change Logo link, you’ll be taken to a panel where you can upload your new logo and set it:

From there, just click on the “+” icon and upload your new logo.
Tuning up the overall styling
As you’ve seen in the screenshots above, there’s a lot more options available in the Customizer sidebar.

The good news is that none of them are required to go through in order to launch your site. However, it’s a good idea to browse through what’s there and see what else you want to adjust.
For example, you’ll probably want to tweak the typography, or the colors, or the way all buttons on look like. This is all up to you. Just remember to click on the main Publish button up top when you’re done. 👍
Editing your homepage
One thing I’m sure you’ll want to do is edit your homepage and make it…well, yours.
Luckily, this is quite simple thanks to WordPress’ drag and drop interface.
To start, go to your homepage and click on the Edit Page link up top:

This will land you in the WordPress editor.
You can edit any element that’s on the page in either of two ways:
(a) Click on an element and start modifying it in line – for example, by entering new text:
(b) Click on an element and take a look at the right sidebar. The element’s additional settings will appear there. Like so:

No matter which block on the page you select, you’ll always see some extra settings to the side.
But that’s not all!
Want to replace any of the images on the page? Easy, simply click on an image and then on Replace:

Want to add new elements to the page? New images? New headings? New quotes? To add any of those and more, click on the plus icon in the top left corner.

You’ll see a selection of available blocks:

You can add any of these blocks by grabbing it in the sidebar and dragging it onto the page.
This is how, block by block, you can tweak the elements present on the page already and/or add new ones.
And, last but not least, you can also pick from entire groups of blocks that come together to form elements like hero sections, team sections, testimonials, and more. To see what’s available, click the plus icon again (the same you used to add new blocks), but this time switch to Patterns:

…
After doing the above, your website will start feeling like it’s truly yours. You will have made all the necessary tune-ups and customizations to make it fit with your brand.
Step 5: Install plugins to enhance functionality
Plugins are to your WordPress site what apps are to your iPhone. 📱
In other words, they extend the standard functionality of your site by adding some much-needed features. Essentially, as you’re figuring out how to make a website on your own, plugins are how you can get some great features without knowing any coding.
Here are the plugins you should consider getting – best of all, they are all free:
- Yoast SEO – helps you make search engine optimization tweaks and make your site more accessible to the search engines in general.
- MonsterInsights – integrates your website with Google Analytics – the most popular traffic analysis solution on the web.
- UpdraftPlus – does automatic backups of your website.
- Optimole – optimizes your images on autopilot.
- WPForms – lets you add interactive contact forms to your website, which your visitors can use to reach you directly.
- Otter Blocks – expands on the native set of features and abilities of the WordPress editor.
- Also look through this list of the most popular WordPress plugins of all time. You might find something interesting there as well.
Installing plugins is simple. If it’s a free plugin that you’re dealing with, then all you need is the plugin’s name.
Go to your WordPress dashboard and then to Plugins → Add New. From there, input the name of the plugin that you want into the search field, and then click on Install and Activate.

👉 Here’s a step-by-step tutorial on installing WordPress plugins.
Step 6: Create basic pages
There are some pages that all websites should have, regardless of their purpose or goal.
But first, how to even create a page in the first place:
To do that, simply go to your WordPress dashboard, and then Pages → Add New. You’ll see this screen, which should be looking quite familiar at this point:

Yes, this is nearly the exact same interface you used when editing your homepage.
What you can do here:
- Set the title of your page.
- Add content.
- Add any other blocks you wish – headings, images, videos, links, etc.
- Change colors or size of elements.
- When you’re done, click Publish.
Now, with the how-to out of the way, here are the pages you should consider creating:
- About – I’ve mentioned this a couple of times now since it’s really an important one. Your About page is where you get to tell the story of what your website is and why people should pay attention. This one page is basically a must-have for everyone who wants to learn how to make a website.
- Contact – this is where you can display some contact info along with a nice contact form, through which people can reach you directly (you can get such a form via the aforementioned WPForms plugin).
- Privacy Policy – this page has become a hugely important element on today’s web. Learn more about privacy policy pages in WordPress here.
- Portfolio – a place for you to showcase your past work.
- FAQs – if the scope of your new website requires some extra information for potential users.
Once you’re done with those, you can also check out this list of some valuable pages worth having on your site. You can treat it as a beginner’s guide to the must-have website elements.
Step 7: Consider starting a blog
Blogging – and content marketing in general – is one of the most effective ways to grow your website and promote any products or services you offer. And it’s not just a theory – 55% of marketers say blogging is their top inbound marketing priority. 3
Running a blog is simple in principle: you just publish articles related to your website’s topic on a regular basis. Over time, this helps attract visitors, build trust, and boost your online presence.
From a technical standpoint, WordPress makes blogging easy. In fact, WordPress originally started as a blogging platform, so all the necessary tools are built right in.
To create a new blog post, just go to Posts → Add New in your WordPress dashboard.

The post editor looks and works much like the page editor. The main difference is that blog posts can be categorized and tagged, making it easier for visitors to find related content.
Once you’re done working on a blog post, click on Publish – just like with pages.
To make your posts easily accessible, you should designate one of your pages to serve as the main blog listing for the posts.
- To do it, first, go to Pages → Add New and create a blank page. Call it “BLOG” – just to make things clear.
- Next, go to Settings → Reading, and select your newly created Blog page as the “Posts page” like so:

At this stage, you can navigate to that new page and see all your recent blog posts there.
Step 8: Adjust your site navigation
With all your key pages online (and perhaps your blog started as well), it’s now a good moment to adjust your site’s navigation and make it overall easier to consume for the visitors.
To do this, visit the Customizer again by going to Appearance → Customize. From there, go into Menus. You will see a list of all the menus on your site. Click on the page that’s labeled “Primary Menu,” like so:

You’ll see another panel where you can add links to your menu or delete current ones. To do this, simply click on Add Items and then pick the pages that you want in your menu:

As always, when you’re done, click on Publish up top. You will see your new pages in the menu:

Conclusion 🏁
That’s it! You’ve just learned how to start a website with WordPress! 🍾🎊
The cool thing about the process presented here is that you can do it all by yourself and don’t have to hire anyone.
Creating a website with WordPress as your platform is the most budget-friendly solution available.
If you want to learn more about what to do with your website once it’s launched – e.g., how to promote and grow traffic to your website, or how to monetize your website – read any of our other guides on the blog.
If you have any questions about how to build a website from scratch, ask away in the comments below!
Download the PDF Version
FAQs about how to make a WordPress website
WordPress is a free and open-source content management system (CMS) that allows you to create and manage websites easily. It’s one of the most popular platforms for website creation, supporting everything from personal blogs to full-fledged business sites.
The cost of building a WordPress website can vary, depending on your needs. The WordPress software itself is free, but you’ll need to pay for web hosting, which typically starts at around $2-$3 per month. You may also choose to purchase a premium theme or plugins, which can add to the cost.
No, you don’t need to know how to code to use WordPress. While knowledge of coding can be useful for customizing your site and fixing problems, it’s not necessary for building a basic website or blog.
Most web hosting providers offer a one-click WordPress installation on their dashboard. Bluehost is one of such companies. They are known for providing you with everything you need to get started working on your site. After purchasing a hosting plan, look for the WordPress icon in your hosting control panel.
A WordPress theme is a collection of templates and stylesheets that define the appearance of your website. You can find free themes in the WordPress theme directory, or on third-party websites, like ours. Feel free to browse our collection of market-tested WordPress themes.
Plugins are software add-ons that extend the functionality of your WordPress website. They can add new features and capabilities to your site. You can find free plugins in the WordPress plugin directory, or on third-party websites. Check out our plugin offerings for some really useful ways to enhance your WordPress site.
WordPress is already quite SEO-friendly out of the box. However, you can enhance its SEO capabilities by using an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO or Rank Math. These plugins guide you in optimizing your content for search engines.
Yes, you can create an ecommerce website using WordPress. WooCommerce is the most popular ecommerce plugin that adds all the essential features you need to set up an online store. We have a full guide here on how to build an ecommerce website with WordPress.
Or start the conversation in our Facebook group for WordPress professionals. Find answers, share tips, and get help from other WordPress experts. Join now (it’s free)!