How to Create a Free Self Hosted WordPress Website

This post demonstrates how to create a free WordPress website, from the installation of WordPress software to the creation of a self-hosted free WordPress website.

WordPress is a PHP MySQL software used for creating blogs & websites and powers more than 23% of websites on the internet. It is open-source software (free to use) and can be easily installed by app installers such as Softaculous.

To create any type of website, two things are required: a domain name and a web hosting account. To register for a free domain name, follow the previous Hosting Column post, Free Domain Name Registration with Freenom, and to create a free web hosting account, follow the post How to Create a Free Web Hosting cPanel Account.

For professional website development, it is recommended to register a reliable web hosting account with a reliable web hosting service provider.

Here is the video to learn How to Create a Self Hosted WordPress Website

Here are the steps shown in video

Step 1: Log in to your web hosting account with the username and password provided at the time of account creation.

Step 2: After login, search for Softaculous Apps Installer under the Software section of cPanel. Click on it and install the WordPress software.

Step 3: After successful installation of WordPress, click on Install menu option to create a new website or blog. In the install menu option, provide basic details of the website, such as Site Name, Site Description, Admin Username & Password, Admin Email. Leave the Advanced Options as it is and click the install button.

Step 4: Delete index.php or index.html files from the htdocs folder if already created and press the install button again. After successful installation, browse the website with the domain name.

Step 5:  Admin panel can be accessed by using domin-name/wp-admin path to manage the various parts of the new website, such as Posts, Media, Appearance etc.

Step 6: Now to activate a pre-install theme, click on Appearance–>Themes as shown in the video. Click on the Activate button and browse the website to view the activated theme.

Step 7: To upload and install a new theme, login to WordPress with Admin panel & click on Add New button. Now click on Upload Theme button to upload the new theme. Browse the theme in .zip format and click on the install now button to install the theme.

Step 8: After successful installation of the new theme, click on the Activate button to activate the theme. Now click on the Live Preview link to view the installed theme.

Step 9: Under the Site Identity option, you can change the Site Title, Tagline & Site Logo. Each time you make changes, click on the Publish button to view the changes on the website.

Step 10: Now on the Top Left bar options, click on the Customize option, and then click on the Posts optionon the left side of the bar, as shown in the video. Delete any existing default post, and then click on the Add New button to add a new post. Enter the text of your post, such as title, description, text, etc., and click on Preview button to view the pre-publish preview of the post. If you are satisfied with the Preview then click on the Publish button to publish the post on the website.

Step 11: To change the Color of the Site title & Background, click on the color option under the Customize option. Change the color and Publish on the site to save the changes.

Step 12: To display a Header Image on the website, click on Header image option. Now click on the Add New Image button to upload the Header Image for your website, and under Enable Featured Header Image in the drop-down box, select Entire Site to display the header on the entire website. Choose the required image size, such as 480x320px or any size suitable for the website. Add an Alt Text (Mouse Over Text) for the Header image and also provide a link URL, such as Home Page Address or website URL, so that if someone clicks on the Header Image, then the website home page will open. Click on Publish button to save the changes.

Step 13: To add a Menu entry, click on the Menus tab under Customize options and click on the Create New Menu button. Mark it as Primary Menu of the website and enter a name for the menu. Now press the Next button and click on the Add Items button to add various types of menu entries, such as Custom Links, Page on the Website, Posts etc. as shown in the video. Click Publish button to view the changes.

Step 14: To add Widgets to the website, which are small graphical elements that provide specific functionalities, go to the Dashboard as shown in the video and click on the Widgets options. Widgets can also be accessed from the Customize options. Here you can see different types of available widgets, and to add a specific widget to the website, just drag and drop the widget on a particular part of the website, such as Primary Sidebar, Footer Area 1, Footer Area 2 etc. Provide a Title for the widgets and Save the changes. Now visit the site to view the new widgets on the website.

Step 15: Under Homepage Settings, you can modify the home page settings of the website. A static page or all the latest posts can be displayed on the home page of the website.

Step 16: Now Publish all the changes you have made in the Admin panel of the website and visit the newly created WordPress website from the domain name web address.

Thanks for visiting. For queries and suggestions, emails are welcome at learnweb@hostingcolumn.com.

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