New to WordPress? Welcome!

There’s a lot to learn, but we’ll take

it slow and steady to help you become a WordPress pro in no
time. By the end of this ebook, you’ll know what WordPress is, the
basics of using it, and where to go next to learn more!

Ready to learn all things WordPress? Let’s jump in.

What is WordPress?

“WordPress is web software you can use to create a beautiful website,

blog, or app. We like to say that WordPress is both free and priceless at
the same time.” – WordPress.org

In other words, WordPress is software that makes it incredibly easy

for anyone to build and manage their own website. While it started as
simple blogging software, WordPress is now a full content management
system (CMS), allowing you to build virtually any type of website on it –
blogs, eCommerce sites, portfolios, business sites, anything.

WordPress Stats

25% percentage of websites powered by WordPress

50 thousand WordPress websites created daily

76.5 million WordPress blogs

409 million people who visit WordPress blogs monthly

Source: DMR

The best part about WordPress, though, is that everything is completely

open source. This means that there are people all over the world who
contribute to it, and that you can use it for free!

So now, let’s talk about what it takes to build a WordPress site.

 Building WordPress sites

To set up a WordPress site, there are three things you need to get started:

1. A domain
2. A web host
3. WordPress installed on your site

A domain is the address for your site, and what people will type into the
browser to access it. For example, Flywheel’s domain is getflywheel.com.
To buy a domain, we recommend using Hover.

As for the second step, a web host, that’s where Flywheel comes in! We’re
a managed WordPress hosting platform that’s built from the ground up.
We make it incredibly easy to build, launch, and manage your WordPress
site, whether you’re a freelancer, member of an agency, or learning to
build your very first WordPress site
ever.

We’re a managed WordPress Plus, Flywheel is a managed

hosting platform that’s built WordPress host, which means we
from the ground up. only host WordPress sites. This
allows our support team to specialize
in all things WordPress, making them
an incredibly valuable asset when
you need some help with your site.

Because we’re a managed WordPress host, we’ll also take care of that
third step for you, installing WordPress on your site! With other hosts,
you have to manually install WordPress all on your own. We figured we’d
take care of that little task for you, so you don’t have to worry about it!
 Getting ready to set up your first site on
Flywheel? We’re here to help make the process as
easy as possible. First, find out which pricing plan
is right for you. Once you’re ready to build your
site, follow this simple ebook to build, launch,
and manage your first site on Flywheel.

So now that you know what WordPress is and what you need to set up
a site, let’s talk about some of the specific tools you’ll use to customize
your site.

Dashboard / wp-admin
The Dashboard is the screen you see when you log in to your WordPress
site. You can customize the widgets that appear on the Dashboard, giving
you the perfect overview of your site.

To log in to your site, you simply type “/wp-admin” after the site name in
the browser. For example, we use www.getflywheel.com/wp-admin.

Pages / Posts
Posts are used to publish articles to your WordPress site’s blog. You can
assign categories, add media, or keep them simple with text.

WordPress pages are the pages that make up your site. Use these to
make about pages, contact pages, and more.
To add a page to your site, go to Pages in the Admin Dashboard.
Likewise, to add a post to your site, go to Posts in the Admin Dashboard.
From there, you can add new pages/posts, or edit existing ones.

Plugins
Plugins are the easiest way to add functionality to your WordPress
site. These are pieces of software that you install on your site, and then
control through the dashboard. Plugins can do anything from adding
contact forms to your site to integrating your Instagram feed to showing
an event calendar. The possibilities are endless!

To add a plugin to your site, go to

Plugins in the Admin Dashboard.
From there you can add new plugins, Plugins are the easiest way
or manage any that you’ve already to add functionality to your
installed. To install a new plugin, WordPress site.
you can either search through the
WordPress Plugin Directory, or upload
one yourself.

Themes / Child Themes

WordPress themes control the appearance of your site. There are
thousands of themes available for download, or you can build your own.

If you want to customize a theme, building a child theme is the way to do

it. Child themes use existing themes (parent themes) to build off of and
allow you to add or remove your own code. Then if the parent theme is
updated, you won’t lose your customizations.

To add a theme to your site, go to Appearance > Themes in the Admin

Dashboard. From there you can add new themes, or manage any
that you’ve already installed. To install a new theme, you can either
search through the WordPress Theme Directory, or upload a child
theme yourself.
Customizer
The Customizer allows you to preview and modify your site’s appearance,
including colors, widgets, header, and more. It’s incredibly useful for
making small changes to your site’s design, and super easy to use.

To use the Customizer, go to Appearance > Customize in the Admin

Dashboard. From there, you can make changes to your site and see a live
preview. If you’re happy with the changes, hit save, but if not, no worries!
You can simply go back to your previous settings.

The Core
The WordPress core is the foundation upon which every single WordPress
site is built. It only has one rule: don’t mess with it!

The Codex
The Codex is the all-inclusive online manual for all things WordPress. You
can find documentation for everything that pertains to WordPress there,
so if you have a question, The Codex can probably answer it, or at least
give you more information.

This is really just the beginning of your WordPress vocabulary. For a more
complete guide, check out The WordPress Designer’s Glossary.

Now that you’ve got the basics of WordPress down, you’re ready to start
experimenting on your own!

Take your WordPress knowledge to the next level

One of the wonderful things about WordPress is that there’s always

more to learn. And as the web evolves, so do best practices for designers.
Thankfully there are plenty of online resources to help you keep up,
whether you’re just starting out or just looking to learn more. If you’re
ready to expand your skills, sign up for one of these online courses for
WordPress designers.
Learn WordPress
Treehouse has put together a fantastic introductory guide for new
WordPress users. You’ll learn how to install WordPress, gain a basic
understanding of how to build a site, and begin to cover topics such as
user roles and admin settings.

WP 101
This site will help you learn WordPress in just one hour! Their video
library is always up to date with the latest version of WordPress so you
can always stay current with your practices. Pay per month, annually,
or even a flat rate of $75 for lifetime access.

WordPress essentials
This course by WP Apprentice will teach you all about the essentials of
WordPress and help you become confident in your web design work.
Lifetime access is $47, plus you can learn at your own pace – you can
rewatch videos when you need to or revisit tricky topics.

How to Properly Make a Website with WordPress

- Beginner’s Tutorial
This course by James Stafford will teach you how to set up a WordPress
site step-by-step. You’ll learn how to drive traffic, gain new customers,
and increase cash flow. The best part – you can enroll for free!

Speeding Up WordPress
Once you’ve gotten the hang of creating a WordPress site, learn how to
make it faster. This course by Topher DeRosia will help you speed up your
site with some super simple tricks. You will need to take the WordPress
Beginner course from OSTraining first, but for $15 a month, you get
access to all courses.
Get involved in the WordPress community

One of the coolest things about the WordPress community is just how
large and inclusive it is. From developers to designers, agencies to
freelancers, and pros to beginners, the WordPress community includes
a lot of people from all over the world.

And part of the reason the WordPress community has grown so big
is that so many people are invested in helping it grow. Developers
are constantly developing new themes and plugins, designers are
creating beautiful sites, WordPress users helps each other in forums,
and volunteers organize local meetups to help connect members of
the community.

Honestly, it’s just a really great community to be a part of. And getting
involved can help you in several different ways:

1. You’ll make lifelong connections with people who, one day, might
just be your next business partner.
2. You’re sure to learn something new, even once you get the hang of
WordPress.
3. You’ll help the WordPress community continue to grow and
improve. And as WordPress is something that you’re learning to
use (and hopefully love!), it’ll be pretty rewarding to give back to it.

Ready to get involved? We can guarantee it’ll be an enjoyable, rewarding,

and incredibly fun adventure. Here are some simple ways to start:

Join online WordPress groups

One of the easiest ways to get involved with the WordPress community
is to connect with other WordPress users on social media. This is a great
way to see new products that developers create, offer any wisdom you
can share to WordPress beginners, and ask for help if you need it.
 If you’re digging this ebook, you should consider
following Layout, Flywheel’s design publication.
We cover topics concerning all aspects of
WordPress designers’ lives, including best
practices, business advice, inspiration round-ups,
and tutorials.

Attend local meetups and conferences

Looking to get involved locally in your community instead of online?
Try to find a WordPress meetup or conference to attend. This may not
be applicable in all cities and might require some travel on your part,
but that can also be part of the experience.

While there are plenty of conferences you could attend that discuss
design and development, WordCamp is entirely dedicated to all things
WordPress. Plus, these conferences are located all over the world! They
are locally organized and a fantastic way to meet other enthusiastic
WordPress users. Plus, they’re just an overall good time!

To find a conference near you, just visit the official WordCamp website.

Follow popular WordPress blogs

Looking for more of a passive approach to getting involved in the
WordPress community? Simply follow along with some popular
WordPress blogs. This will help you stay current in the WordPress
world and help you learn a new trick or two.
The WordPress community is a truly fantastic group of people. Together,
we’re helping each other learn more about this open-source platform
that we love, developing incredible new products to make each other’s
lives easier, and building a greater online experience for everyone. In
short: It’s a great community to get involved with. For more ways to get
involved, check out our full guide here.

Class dismissed
If you’ve made it this far, congratulations! You’ve passed WordPress 101
with flying colors. While there is plenty more that you could learn, you now
have the foundation to successfully master any of your WordPress dreams.
 What is Flywheel?
Flywheel is a delightful platform that empowers designers, developers, and
digital agencies to focus on what they do best — building beautiful, functional
sites for their clients. We make it a breeze to create and develop WordPress
sites, handle hosting, manage projects, and ultimately scale your business.

Stop wasting time on server management, security plugins, caching, and all
those other boring repetitive tasks that take your focus away from growing
your business and jeopardize your relationship with clients. Get Flywheel and
get back to doing what you love.

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