How to Own Your Own Website (Even If You Can't Build One) Pt 2
Customizing Your Wordpress Website: A Beginner's Guide
In our previous discussion, we covered the process of purchasing and initiating a basic website utilizing the Wordpress platform. This article will focus on customizing your Wordpress site, providing a solid foundation for a high-quality, feature-rich online presence.
Navigating the Wordpress Interface
For first-time users, the Wordpress menu system can initially appear complex. We will provide a concise overview to simplify the experience and enhance usability.
Understanding the core functionalities is key to effective website management. This walkthrough will demystify the various sections and options available within the Wordpress dashboard.
Selecting and Implementing a Theme
A theme dictates the visual appearance of your website. Choosing the right theme is crucial for establishing your brand identity and user experience.
Numerous themes, both free and premium, are readily available. Consider factors like responsiveness, customization options, and compatibility with essential plugins when making your selection.
Creating a Customized Navigation Menu
An intuitive navigation menu is essential for guiding visitors through your website. It allows users to easily find the information they need.
Wordpress offers a straightforward interface for creating and managing navigation menus. You can easily add, remove, and reorder menu items to reflect your site's structure.
Furthermore, ensuring your navigation is easily updatable is vital for maintaining a current and relevant website. Regular updates will keep your site user-friendly.
Starting a new Wordpress site can be daunting, but with a clear understanding of these fundamental customization steps, you’ll be well-equipped to build a successful online platform. This is part two of our series, “How to Own Your Own Website,” and further guidance is forthcoming.
Exploring the Core Components of a New WordPress Installation
Accessing the administrative interface, often referred to as the “back end,” of your newly established WordPress website is typically achieved by navigating to your domain name followed by the "/wp-admin" suffix. This will direct you to a login page, similar to the one depicted here, granting you access to manage and customize your website.
The interface you encounter is the WordPress dashboard. It provides a wealth of information, including notifications regarding updates and suggestions for new content creation, plugin additions, or setting adjustments. Let's proceed by examining the various options available within this dashboard.
While generally user-friendly, the extensive array of features within WordPress can initially feel overwhelming. Here’s a concise overview of the main menu items. Posts facilitates the creation of blog-style entries, a core function given WordPress’s origins as a blogging platform. Media serves as a repository for uploading images, videos, and other files directly through your browser, eliminating the need for FTP software and simplifying the process. Links represents one of WordPress’s SEO capabilities; however, it can be bypassed if desired. Pages allows for the management and addition of static pages that are distinct from blog posts, as they typically aren’t included in the website’s RSS feed. Comments enables you to review and moderate feedback submitted by visitors. Appearance provides control over the visual aspects of your website, including backgrounds, menus, headers, and colors, and is also where new themes can be downloaded. Plugins extend the functionality of your website, ranging from simple enhancements to complex additions; careful selection is advised. Users allows for user account management, including modifying your own username or adding additional users. Tools and Settings contain more advanced, technical options for fine-tuning your site.
The learning curve associated with WordPress, despite its relative simplicity, can be steep due to the sheer volume of new concepts. Understanding this menu breakdown is a crucial first step.
This dashboard also displays available updates for your software. Regularly installing these updates ensures that WordPress, along with any installed plugins or themes, remains current and secure.
By default, WordPress is configured to notify prominent blog directories and search engines about your website’s presence, potentially improving its visibility in search results. You can adjust this behavior under Settings > Privacy, opting to request that search engines not index your site until you are satisfied with its content. Alternatively, publishing an incomplete site is unlikely to have significant consequences.
Many menu items contain sub-pages with numerous options. The “Posts” and “Pages” sections are particularly important to familiarize yourself with, depending on your intended use of WordPress. If your primary goal is to create a blog, the “Posts” section will likely be a frequent destination. Conversely, if you plan to develop static pages, the “Pages” section will be your focus.
Customizing a WordPress Installation Through Theme Selection
WordPress employs collections of stylesheets and designs, known as Themes, to modify the overall site layout. This functionality provides a straightforward method for individuals lacking design or technical expertise to enhance their website’s appearance with minimal effort. It also serves as a valuable starting point for designers with intermediate skills.
Accessing the Theme Menu
The theme management interface can be located by navigating to Appearance > Themes within the WordPress dashboard.
Installing New Themes
The installation of new themes is a streamlined process. New themes can be directly downloaded through the WordPress interface by selecting the “Install Themes” tab.
A wide array of categories are available to assist in theme discovery, including options for color schemes and column layouts. For the purpose of this demonstration, we will focus on themes that allow for customization of the background, colors, header, and menus.
WordPress presents an extensive list of themes that align with the specified criteria.
Previewing and Installing a Theme
A particularly useful feature is the ability to preview a theme before committing to its installation. We will utilize this functionality with the Picolight theme for our example.
Initiate the installation process by clicking “Install,” followed by proceeding to download and integrate the theme files into your WordPress installation.
Activating the Theme
Following the download and placement of all necessary files, the theme must be Activated to instruct WordPress to utilize the new design.
Theme Customization Options
Once a theme is installed and activated, a variety of customization options become available. These options allow for further refinement of the website’s appearance.
Let’s now explore these available settings.
Customizing Your Main Navigation
Menus are generally the initial element you should focus on when customizing your website. The majority of contemporary Wordpress themes offer support for “custom menus,” which can be managed through the following steps. However, initiating menu customization requires a few preliminary adjustments.
To begin, navigate to Pages > Add New Page and create all the pages you intend to include in your navigation. This section also allows you to remove any pages you don’t want displayed on your website.
Once you have completed creating your pages, click the publish button to make them accessible to the public.
Continue adding pages until you have a sufficient number to populate your menu, or until you are satisfied with the content.
The subsequent step involves locating “Reading Settings” under Settings > Reading Settings. Within this section, you can designate a static page as your site’s “home” page, rather than the default blog frontpage, if desired. You can also assign any existing static page to serve as your blog frontpage. Remember to click “Save Changes” after making these adjustments.
(Author’s Note: The “Sample Page” was initially used as the static front page and later renamed to “Home.” This renaming process can be accomplished by returning to “Pages” and modifying the Sample Page’s title, though this step was not explicitly demonstrated.)
Now, return to the Menus section by navigating to Appearance > Menus. You can directly enter a name for your menu in the “Menu Name” field. Any name will suffice, provided you remember it for future reference.
Select the pages you wish to include and click “Add to Menu.”
The page positioned at the top of the menu list will appear first in the navigation, while the bottommost page will appear last. You can rearrange the order by clicking and dragging the menu items.
Furthermore, you have the option to incorporate external links and internal Categories into your menus, providing useful additions to your site’s navigation.
To finalize the changes, locate and click “Save Menu” at the bottom right of the page.
Finally, navigate to the “Locations” section within the same Menus page. As Picolight typically supports only one menu by default, simply select your created menu (previously named “Main Header”) and then click “Save.”
Upon checking your frontpage, you will find that your new menu is installed and ready for navigation. This menu is updated from the backend; adding or removing pages does not require editing numerous HTML files.
Further Exploration in WordPress
Numerous aspects of WordPress remain to be investigated. Should you be inclined, explore your installation thoroughly to determine which features suit your needs and which present challenges. A third installment will be available shortly.
Empowering You to Establish an Online Presence (Regardless of Technical Skill)
Section 1: Hosting and Installation | Section 2: Themes and Navigation
Section 3: Personalization, Widgets, and Plugins
What are your impressions thus far? Do you find yourself more perplexed, or has clarity been achieved? Perhaps you are an experienced “webmaster” possessing valuable advice for those embarking on their initial “genuine” webpage. Share your thoughts in the comments section, or direct your inquiries to ericgoodnight@howtogeek.com.
Submissions regarding WordPress and fundamental webpage creation may be incorporated into subsequent articles within this series.
Image Source: Cat in the Box by admiller, licensed under Creative Commons.