Best way to learn and create a Wordpress site??

[jimmyjanga]

I have been ripped off a couple of times by people creating a Website for me. The end product has been disappointing and looks cookie cutter. I've heard the best way to do a website is using Wordpress. I want to figure this out for myself so I don't have to keep dishing out money to people that I don't know at all.

What's the best way to learn to build a Wordpress site? Are there any good editor programs out there you recommend?

Any help is appreciated!

Thanks!

 

[Sophomoric]

Come on people, there's a million guides if you search the topic on google, and probably another million pdfs if you hunt for them. Not to mention valuable information right here on this forum. *points to search*

 

[LakeForest]

Go to wordpress.com or wordpress.org and start your journey there.

The easiest way is to use predesigned templates. You can find free and premium ones all over the web.

 

[toughtrasher]

What's wrong with using a template?

 

[thetrustedzone]

op http://www.blackhatworld.com/blackhat-seo/member-downloads/385326-4-noobs-wordpress-uncoverd.html

 

[zebrahat]

Was the OP clear in what design look or elements they wanted out of their WP site, or ask the provider if that custom work was part of the package? How much was paid for the job? If the main purpose was to get started and earn money, and only $50 or less was paid for it, you couldn't expect much by way of appealing design.

In many instances, the monetization of a site may be best served by a cookie cutter, or even crappy look (some ugly designs are meant to add incentive to the visitors to just click on the Adsense ad to escape the site). Just ask a site creator if they are using templates, and if so could you see demos of what each one looks like, so you can choose the one that you can live with.

 

[jimmyjanga]

I just wanted a simple real estate website. Something that simply gets the point across, but that looks good. I tried a few different web guys, but they ended up not knowing much about IDX. I then found a couple of companies that either incorporate an IDX plugin or that IDX plugin companies recommend, but those are still $750 at minimum and they are just a template. They do not let me host the site at the place I pick either.

Since they are just simple templates, now (after some googling and advice from above), I've been looking for a good template to use. Does anyone have any experience with one or another?

 

[mvtron]

I just wanted a simple real estate website. Something that simply gets the point across, but that looks good. I tried a few different web guys, but they ended up not knowing much about IDX. I then found a couple of companies that either incorporate an IDX plugin or that IDX plugin companies recommend, but those are still $750 at minimum and they are just a template. They do not let me host the site at the place I pick either.

Since they are just simple templates, now (after some googling and advice from above), I've been looking for a good template to use. Does anyone have any experience with one or another?

Jimmy like the others said there are millions of guides teaching you wordpress theme creation if your looking for video tutorials there's this great guy on youtube named derecbanas he teaches you everything you need to know about wordpress theme creation.

 

[jimmyjanga]

Awesome! Yeah, I'll check that guy out on youtube.

I played around with Wordpress last night and bam... I now have a cool start to a website! SOOO much better than those a**holes that were charging me $800!

I really appreciate the great advice!

 

[paulcarter97]

Site that are made by own knowledge and original web design languages are the best. But one of the way out is using wordpress. It gives a user a ready made site files in which a minor alternation can change a site's look. Word press is an easy job if one have a little knowledge of scripting languages. You can learn wordpress from video tutorial found on youtube and can even find a free pdf book on net for it. Google it

 

[Ramsweb]

Dude, installing wordpress is very simple. Just type in "installing wordpress" + "your hosting provider" in youtube. That will give you instructions on how to install wordpress.

Here are a few other tips that you might find useful once you have installed wordpress.

• Add a good ping list to your wordpress settings. That will get your new posts indexed automatically, just by you publishing it.
• Install W3 cache plugin which will speed up wordpress. Wordpress can get a slow at times, especially if you are on a shared hosting plan. W3 will help speed it up.
• Be careful about what plugins you install. Some plugins inject malware while some can simply slow down your wordpress's performance. Also, be careful about installing too many SEO plugins. Choose one and go with it.
• Install a good related links plugin that will reduce your bounce rate and also increase your site's on page SEO strength.
• Try to add no follow tags, using a plugin, to links in your blogroll like contact us, privacy policy etc. It will help preserve some link juice when you do SEO.

 

[mootonandy]

I reckon buying a MNS off a popular seller on here and then attempt to reverse engineer it is your best option.

 

[darkhat99]

At first i must tell that it not an easy job to done .. And as starter you should start with templates ..

 

[maple_toast]

Wordpress is point and click. So is google. Use the interwebs to learn and do it on your own. Most of us on here (maybe all) have learned that way. I know I did.

 

[Sonylicious]

there are a lot of tutorials all over the internet, but you can also ask some friends that might already have some experience

 

[mrtwister_65]

Have a look at Artisteer. If you are not yet familiar with website codding, tweaking your template to your needs can be frustrating. Time will be better spent on creating content for the site, while still learning Wordpess on the way.

 

[jimmyjanga]

This is all great information!

I just got the "Wordpress 24-Hour Trainer" book in the mail and will be checking it out. I have already started playing around with Wordpress... bought a template and have populated it. I'm extremely excited how easy it all is to use! There are a few things I'm struggling with, but with time, I'll definitely learn it.

What is a MNS by the way?

Anyways, the help and advice here has been great! Thanks!

 

[mootonandy]

What is a MNS by the way?

Micro niche site

 

[sicnarf]

Jimmy, the best way to get to know something is to play around with it. One thing that I did when learning WP was to install XAMPP on my computer. By doing that I was able to install WP locally which reduced the lag time compared to using a hosted site. If you want to go that route, just do a search for something like running WP on XAMPP. Once you get the hang of WP, you'll never turn back.

 

[Cranula]

The best way is to just keep tinkering with it. But if your tinkering make sure you have set milestone goals. That way you aren't tinkering for no reason, it forces you to go and research, look for how-to videos to do certain things. I remember i use to spend hours on the smallest details sometimes because I couldn't figure out for the life of me how to get something to go in a box or how to put a link in a certain spot. But now, because I've done it so many times I can do it in a few minutes with what took me 2 hours once.