How to Create a Successful WordPress Site

WordPress is a free, open-source content management system that lets you build websites quickly without coding, backed by a large community, secure, and stable.

Discover how to pick a memorable, distinctive brand name using the Igor Naming Guide, evaluating appearance, sound, energy, positioning, and trademark, and testing domain availability and variations.

Discover how to find the perfect domain name using BustAName.com, check availability for dot com, and explore fast permutations by adding words to create memorable domain options.

Compare popular web hosting providers, choose a plan, point your domain name to the hosting via name servers, and create a professional domain email.

Learn to install WordPress the traditional slow way, including downloading WordPress, unzipping it, and uploading files via FTP to a web server, while noting faster one-click options.

Create a WordPress database using your blog host panel or the wizard, name it, set a password, assign privileges, and remember the database credentials for the WordPress installation.

Learn to install WordPress from an FTP upload, configure the database settings, and complete the five-minute installation to access a new WordPress site ready for templates.

Install WordPress quickly with one-click installs on hosting panels like blue host or host gator, create a database, choose themes, and access the admin panel to publish posts.

Configure WordPress basics by setting the site name, tagline, and admin email, then establish a clean permalink structure and essential user roles, and start posting.

Discover how WordPress automatically resizes and compresses large images on upload, using media settings to set a target width (for example, 544 pixels) and preview the result.

Learn how to embed videos in WordPress from YouTube or Vimeo by copying the embed code, setting width to 600, and pasting it in HTML view.

Compare categories and tags to organize WordPress posts, using broad category groups and specific post-level tags. Learn how categories and tags relate to posts, pages, and widgets for related content.

Install and preview WordPress themes from appearance, switch from the default template, and activate free or premium options. Upload zip files and customize theme options with previews.

Learn to create a custom WordPress menu in the appearance > menus interface, combining static pages and categories into a single main navigation with a device-friendly navigation bar.

Peek into Google Analytics to track traffic trends, unique visits, page views, bounce rate, and engagement across demographics and devices, then learn how Google works to boost traffic.

Enable social media sharing on WordPress by using built-in sharing settings or free plugins to add Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Google Plus buttons to posts.

Post regularly to feed a hungry audience with great content across blogs and videos, maintain quality copy and grammar, and stay consistent to grow traffic.

Develop persistence and relentless resourcefulness to build a successful WordPress site, do what you love, applying the 10,000-hour rule and the six keys that lead to visitor growth and sales.

Learn to fix ugly footers by editing WordPress theme footers, replacing default copyright text with your own company name, adding links, and inserting symbols directly in footer.php.

Create and customize a Facebook like widget for your WordPress site, adjust dimensions, remove the header and stream, and paste the code into your theme's sidebar.

Install FeedBurner on your WordPress site to track RSS subscribers, enable email updates, and add a simple widget with the FeedBurner code for easy subscriptions.

Install the promotions slider plugin, create promotions with images, and publish to build a rotating ad banner; insert via shortcode or hard-code into your theme, adjusting size.

Install a live chat on your WordPress site using Olark or click desk, paste the code above the closing body tag, and monitor real-time visitor interactions to boost trust.

Learn why newsletters are essential for a WordPress site: build an email list of subscribers, keep in touch, and turn visitors into paying customers with regular updates.