How to Build Websites and Blogs for Free
People are often intimidated by building their own websites because they think you need to know a lot about writing code, graphic design, user interfaces, and other technical issues.
That may have been the case a decade or so ago, but today, anybody can build their own website quickly and for free, once they know a few tricks of the trade.
When you use the free tools and theme templates available at open-source sites like WordPress, building a high-quality website is easy.
“Open source” means that anybody can use it and you don’t have to pay to use its tools. WordPress is very easy to use and even has hundreds of free tutorial videos you can watch that show you how to do every step.
WordPress has thousands of premade “themes,” which are website templates that you can use for free starting right away. It also offers paid themes.
Another benefit of WordPress is that it has a lot of free plug-ins that you can drag and drop onto your website, including such things as creating automated links to your Facebook, Twitter, and other social media pages, polls, and other desirable additions to your web pages.
Plus, WordPress makes it super easy to add photos, images, video, and audio recordings to your website. And you don’t even need to know anything about HTML or CSS code writing. If you can drag and drop, you have all the skills you need to create a high-quality, professional-looking website.
Getting Started with WordPress
The first thing you need to do is create an account with WordPress. It’s free and only takes a few minutes. All you really need is an email address, and you are ready to go.
Alternatively, if you want to host your own WordPress blog for a small monthly fee, check out this tutorial on getting and setting up your own WordPress Hosting.
Go to the WordPress home page and click on the “Get Started” button. Here you can set up your free account and choose a name for your website.
You will be sent an email with a link that activates your WordPress account. Now you are ready to build your page.
Whenever you log into WordPress, you will automatically be brought to your Dashboard.
This is the place where you create new web pages, choose themes, add new features, and do everything else you need to build and maintain your website pages.
On the left-hand side of your Dashboard, there are a set of buttons you use to create your settings, make changes, and add new elements to your website.
The first couple of times you use WordPress, you’re going to want to take the time to learn about these tools by watching the free tutorial videos that explain how to use them.
Creating Your First Web Page
To build your first new web page on WordPress, click on the “Posts” button on your Dashboard, and then click on “Add New.” This automatically generates a new page.
There’s a space for the headline or title and a box underneath for your content. You will also find different icons that perform various functions, including using different typefaces, bullet points, adding links, and adding images and other media.
WordPress will automatically save drafts as you build your web page. Or you can click on the “Save Draft” button. To see what your page will look like to visitors, click on the “Preview” button at any time.
When you are happy with the final version of your web page, click on the “Publish” button, and your web page will instantly be posted to your server.
You can edit or modify your web page anytime you want, even after you have posted it online.
Changes are automatically updated, so anybody who goes to your page will only see the latest version. You also can delete portions of your website, or even the entire web page itself, any time you want.
Free WordPress Installation Service
If you still need some help getting started, I’m offering Free WordPress installation service to help get you blogging fast. Learn more about it here.