Do you want to launch a website for digital marketing or just simply to build a portfolio, but don’t know the first thing about website building or programming? Don’t panic! If you thought you can’t have a website without programming knowledge or paying somebody else to do it, you couldn’t be more wrong. With a little bit of WordPress knowledge, you can have your own website running within just a few minutes.
WordPress might be the simplest way to build a professional website without even the slightest knowledge of programming. This open-source platform is completely free and can be used for a wide range of content management. And don’t think just because it is free, WordPress might not be up to par. Almost 40 percent of the world’s 1.3 billion websites run on WordPress. From BBC, Wall Street Journal to Walt Disney to even PlayStation, many major brands and corporations use WordPress to host their sites.
Its flexibility, adaptability, and simplicity have made it the number one choice for even new bloggers. If all these have got you intrigued in learning WordPress, we have listed eight great sources that you can use to learn WordPress. Give it a read and become the next WordPress wizard!
1. WP Beginner
WP beginner is an excellent platform for learning WordPress from scratch. Although designed for beginners, you will also learn a lot about content management systems (CMS) from this platform. If you are thinking about starting a blog with WordPress, this can be a wholesome course that can guide you in the right direction.
Their topics include:
· Wordpress.org (self-hosting) vs wordpress.com (free hosting)
· Picking a domain name
· Choosing a web host
· Installing WordPress and incorporating it with your site
· WordPress themes
· WordPress plugins
· Incorporating Google Analytics with your WordPress site
· Setting up an email address for your blog
However, as a beginner, you don’t have to follow through with every section. For starters, you can focus on the installation, domain, themes, and plugins. You can leave the analytics for later when you have a better grasp of WordPress. After installing WordPress, the first thing you are going to find complicated as a beginner is the WordPress themes. And this platform covers various aspects of the best WordPress classified themes.
2. Wp 101
WP101 has hundreds of video tutorials on WordPress. From building a site, e-commerce to even a blog, you can find video tutorials for everything you have been looking for. On top of that, to keep you up to date with new WordPress releases, they upload new videos periodically. However, you will have to pay for the subscription after you have watched the first three free videos.
WP101 is an excellent option for beginners in WordPress. Besides, if you want to progress further with WordPress learning, you can also have access to their advanced level course. Here are some topics that WP101 will cover for you-
· Introduction to WordPress
· Jetpack Tutorial
· WP101
· Youst SEO tutorials
· Backup buddy
· WP forms builder
· WooCommerce tutorials
3. Codex (Wordpress.org)
WordPress codex is a free learning platform supported by wordpress.org. From designers, theme developers, beginners, and webmasters, everyone can benefit from these tutorials. What’s more, if you are interested to learn what goes in the WordPress backend and coding, you can learn just that with the codex.
For its wide coverage and the comprehensive database about almost all releases of WordPress, it is called the WordPress manual. Besides, to keep it up to date, it follows the wiki method: Anyone can add, translate, or contribute to its content.
4. Udemy
Popular online learning platform Udemy has the largest collection of resources on WordPress, and for a beginner, it might get overwhelming to even start. One of the perks of learning from Udemy is you will get various mentors, applying varied tactics to make the concept easier for you, and you will surely find a course that matches your learning style. Udemy courses range from beginners to advanced, and you can find one that is right up to your alley.
5. Lynda
Lynda is another great resource on WordPress, you can learn from video tutorials that are categorized into beginner, intermediate, and advanced levels. When it comes to video learning, Lynda might be the closest rival to Udemy.
Most videos are 1-2 hours long. However, don’t let the tutorial length deter you from learning. The tutorials are interactive, and you are completely free to adopt a self-paced learning method for your ease. Lynda’s WordPress topic covers:
· Getting to know WP
· Learning WordPress
· Adding media
· Creating content
· User profile
· Creating pages
· WordPress plugins
· Configuration and security
· Managing the appearance of your WordPress site
6. Yoast (WordPress SEO)
Learning WordPress and search engine optimization comes hand in hand, that is if you want to monetize your WordPress site. And Yoast would be the best platform to learn all about WordPress SEO. Yoast WordPress content is developed by top-notch SEO experts and college academicians. Besides, they have actual best practices that you can get help from.
They have both free and paid versions of academic tutorials. If you are skeptical about enrolling in a paid course, you can check out their free courses to see if they will be a good fit for you. Their topics cover:
· Basic WordPress SEO
· Optimizing template
· SEO copywriting
· Optimizing conversion
· Evaluation of results
· Off-site SEO
· Optimizing comment
The Bottom Line
The best thing about WordPress is that even if you know next to nothing about WordPress, you can still build a free website. The platform is completely self-sufficient in a way that it will be a breeze to build a website even for a middle schooler. However, to go beyond the surface-level knowledge about WordPress, you still need to learn from a platform that provides advanced-level tutorials.
Besides, with the flexibility of web publishing and content management that WordPress provides, soon it might be a mandatory soft skill to learn for everyone. So why not get ahead of the race, make yourself more tech-savvy? And the best way to go about it will be to select a platform that you think will be suited for you and start learning WordPress.