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There is a stat out there that says over 30% of websites on the internet use WordPress!  Pretty fascinating, right?  

That being said, out of all the content managing systems out there, I would argue that WordPress has the biggest learning curve.  WordPress requires a few different plug-ins and little extra code to make your website run as successful as possible.  Don’t worry, I will cover everything you need to know in this post!  Let’s go! 

WordPress.com vs. WordPress.org

If you've looked into using WordPress before, you’ll know that there are two different options — WordPress.com and WordPress.org.  For our sake, we will be using the former because it is much easier for beginners.  The latter lets you stem off and have your own hosting platform.  While the .org option is ideal for blogs that get lots of traffic and are ready to scale, it is much more complicated to set up.  Building a brand is an evolutionary process so I recommend that you start out with WordPress.com.   

Setup

To begin, head over to wordpress.com and create an account.  Then, you’ll be prompted to choose a domain.  Go ahead and enter something that fits your brand. 

Dashboard Overview

Once you login to your account, your dashboard will appear.  This is your new best friend!  Let’s look around… 

Writing a Blog Post

I assume that, if you're building a WordPress website, you are looking to blog.  If that’s not the case, I promise that blogging will do amazing things for your ecommerce or personal brand website.  To draft a post, click the “Write Blog Post” button under the Quick Links tab on the right hand side of the dashboard.  

From here a blank page will pop up that you can begin typing on.  WordPress allows you to make headers, change the font style, type, and color, add images, integrate videos, and so much more.  It’s really quite neat.  

Adding a Page

There are four pages that are essential to any website: the homepage, about page, contact page, and blog.  To add a page, click the “Add a Page” button under the Quick Links tab, again on the right-hand side of the dashboard.  

Even with the free plan, tons of beautiful templates will be at your disposal.  You can rearrange, delete, or add anything that you see fit.  It’s really just a plug and play type of deal.  I’ve drafted a fake about page below:

 

 

Stats

On the upper left-hand side of the screen, you’ll see a Stats tab.  One of the benefits to WordPress is that they offer website stats and analytics.  Are they amazing?  No.  But are they better than nothing?  Yes.  Eventually you should install Google Analytics, but the WordPress stats feature will be okay if you're just starting out.  

Customizing Your Website

In the toolbar that spreads down the left-hand side of the dashboard, there is a Design tab.  When you click the dropdown, there will be a “Customize” button.  Here you can change your homepage header, tagline, theme colors, font, etc. 

To create a dynamic homepage, check one of the boxes under “Featured Category” within the Theme Options tab.  A dynamic page will update your homepage with whatever you want it to show (newest blog post, a featured image, etc.).  This is the option most bloggers check

To create a static homepage, select the “Uncategorized” option from the dropdown.  A static page stays the same and will look the same every time a user visits your site.  

Be sure to save any changes you made before exiting.  

Themes

WordPress offers a collection of free and paid themes.  The great thing about content management systems is that once you’ve created your pages, you can go in later and apply a theme without re-doing the work you just did.  Simply scroll through until you find a theme you like, activate it, and you’re done.  Your website will change but the pages you created will still be there.  

My Final Thoughts…

Out of the three CMS’s I’ve talked about in this course, WordPress is by far the one with the biggest learning curve; Shopify and Squarespace are a little more turnkey.  However, if you're ballin’ on a budget, WordPress is also the cheapest option and can make a pretty good looking site for its price.  

Building a website is just the beginning of creating a successful online business.  The next step is the hard part — finding the right traffic to drive to your website.  We will talk more about this on the final day of my free 30 day course, tomorrow.

Do you think WordPress is for you and your brand?  Let me know! 

There's only one day left; let's finish strong! 

Peace.  

For the complimentary worksheets and resources, go to adrianbrambila.com/30days.

 

I make new content every single week, so be sure to subscribe to my Youtube and follow my Instagram @brambilabong and TikTok at @AdrianBrambila. I also have tons of resources and courses on my website that you won’t want to miss. Head over to www.adrianbrambila.com to learn more about what I do and how I live a financially free life.