I still remember the day I built my first WordPress blog, staring at the dashboard and absolutely clueless. I had searched all over for a free WordPress tutorial for beginners, but there were none so it actually took me a while to learn how to operate the entire thing. However, lucky for you, this resource is becoming more available and today, we are going to check out Website Setup and see how it can get your WordPress up and running in no time.
What Is Website Setup?
The site is created by a web developer, Robert Mening, for the purpose of helping beginners, as the name implies, setting up their WordPress website for the first time. It covers many technical aspects of the platform as well as suggestions on how to monetize from it online.
Here is the list of topics that you can expect to learn;
- 3 Simple Steps to Make Your Own Website
- How to Customize WordPress
- How to Increase Website Traffic for Free
- How to Monetize Your Website
- How to Design a Logo for Your Website
As you can see, these guidelines aren’t just for bloggers. Internet marketers, small business owners, start-ups as well as creative individuals can also benefit from them. To date, the free resources have helped launched more than 100,000 WordPress sites. Now, that’s quite an accomplishment.
After spending a few hours going through them, I found it to be a good piece for revision. I mean, even after using WordPress for 3 years, I still learned something new.
What I Like About It?
1) The step-by-step guide is very elaborate, yet easy to understand. Although Robert has a web developer background, he doesn’t sound techy but manages to explain the entire process, from finding a domain to hosting, in such a way that it makes sense.
2) For each step, he shares reliable services (obviously, he’s an affiliate for them) so that you not only know what tools to use, but also get discounted offers as a result of using his affiliate links.
For example, one of the recommendation was to use BlueHost, which has quite a good reputation in the hosting industry. If follow his link, you can purchase a domain and hosting for as low as $2.75/month, which is not expensive at all to start an online business.
3) Unlike other WordPress experts, Robert doesn’t shy away from helping beginners. In fact, he’s very generous in offering his contact for those who need it and offer assurance that he will respond in due time.
4) The fact that he took the trouble to explain about traffic and branding goes to show that he builds websites with a long term objective in mind. This is particularly pertinent for those who are planning an online business because it lays a strong foundation that allows your ventures to keep growing in the online space.
5) In his ‘How To Monetize Your Website’ guide, he talks about the importance of using content for marketing which I totally agree. After all, that’s why we are using WordPress in the first place, right?
So many people chase after the shiny objects, thinking that some super power tools will sky rocket their traffic while their real problem is the lack of substance which is essentially a helpful and purposeful content.
6) Something that’s a relief when I took Robert’s tutorial is that I didn’t need to sign up and get bombarded with promotional emails. All information can be accessed through the page internal links and there’s no segway to member’s area OR upsell offers which are often times, quite annoying. This makes the site very transparent and straightforward, which is quite refreshing in the online marketing world.
7) Unlike other free sites, I could see that Robert makes an effort to update the guides every month or so. This means you’ll be getting current information in regard to WordPress settings and many other online tools that he recommends.
8) Last but not least, seeing the user testimonials and positive mentions from reputable sites like Mashable and Entrepreneur, reassures that I am learning from a reliable source that not only has theory, but practical experience as well.
What It Lacks?
For all the good stuff that you get, I only have two complaints about this site.
1) The first is the lack of video walk through because as a beginner, I find that tiny details are sometimes easier to understand when watching step-by-step instead of reading the guide.
2) The second is the keyword recommendation tool whereby Robert promotes the use of the Google Keyword Planner (GKP). GKP is great for finding new topic ideas, but unless you are investing in paid traffic, you can’t rely on the metrics entirely to decide on your keyword choice.
When ranking for organic search, which is the most common route for beginners, you need to look at the numbers on the competition level. Yes, the search volume is important, but the competition value is even more prudent because that determines if you are on page one of Google OR page ten (you don’t want to be here). Unfortunately, the competition metric on GKP refers to the frequency of marketers bidding for a particular keyword. It doesn’t derive from organic data.
Would I Recommend Website Setup?
Despite lacking some aspects, I still think that this is a FANTASTIC guide and it actually emphasizes what I always thought to be true.
- If you want to become a successful affiliate marketer, you need to build a website. Don’t take the lazy route and scatter your links here and there. You’ll never earn any reputation from the audience and Google.
- WordPress is not technically challenging. If you can operate a basic computer, you shouldn’t have any problem with this platform.
- WordPress’s biggest arsenal is the blogging feature so make full use of that to disperse useful information on the web, target your audience and convert sales. A website is not something that you create and then forget. It needs to be nurtured and the best way to do that is through creating blog content. It would help to have a good keyword tool, but besides that, all you need to do is just write.
- WordPress is supported by a lot of online users. If you are stuck somewhere, you can always ask Robert, me or the community at Wealthy Affiliate. Someone is bound to have an answer so always reach out when you have questions.
The free WordPress tutorial for beginners by Website Setup truly set the benchmark for building a website with a good foundation so I would encourage you to give it a go.
Alternatively, if you are all set up and looking for guidance on how to improve traffic, sales and conversion in your online venture, then please visit the training and video tutorials at my recommended blogging platform for more information.
You may also be interested to read;
What Can You Learn from Beginner Blogging
The Pros and Cons of Marketers Paradise Online Training
Review – Free Online Marketing Training Course by Launch 2 Success
JohnnyGMyers says
I love your content. It is exactly what I need. I have been working with WordPress for about a month now and there are times that I just want to scream. I have a nice site, very nice actually, but it has taken a lot of time and energy to get it. So thank you for pointing me to additional resources that can help to polish my WordPress skills.
Cathy says
Glad you found it useful Johnny 🙂
Kayla says
Wow! It does seem like Website Setup is a GREAT resource for beginners. I know when I started, (and sometimes even still), I found WordPress to be difficult to understand everything in the dashboard.
I spent A LOT of time trying to navigate it on my own – so this would have been an awesome resource when I first started. But I think I’ll go ahead a give it a look over anywhere, because, like you said, I’m sure there’s something to learn and take away from it.
I also agree that using video is an effective way to SHOW someone how to create and build a website – so it’s unfortunate that don’t utilize this in their platform.
But overall, great advice. Thanks for the tip.
JL Marker says
This is very interesting and enlightening. Building a website can be very intimidating. I love that there are tutorials for beginners. I would like to build my on e-commerce site. Can you tell me what are the limits for WordPress? Can you set up a store front with a wordpress site?
Cathy says
You most certainly can. The thing with WordPress is that it allows all sorts of customization through the function of plugins and to set up a store front, I would recommend WooCommerce. It’s just that WordPress comes with some learning curve, mostly on the technical aspect, but if you just take it step-by-step using this free WordPress tutorial, you should do just fine.