How to Build a Regular Website With WordPress
Many entrepreneurs and small business owners who are building their own websites look at WordPress but aren’t sure if it will work for a regular website — meaning one without a blog. WordPress is generally thought of as blogging software but it also works very well for building a website without a blog.
After you’ve installed WordPress on your domain’s hosting space, the next step is to choose a theme. WordPress is highly customizable with themes and there are many choices. Look for a theme which has the general layout you like. For example if you want to create a website with a header, then a menu below it, and then a sidebar and content, you’ll want to pick a theme with that layout. Some themes are more flexible than others so you’ll want to look at the live demos of the themes.
Once you’ve chosen a theme and installed it on your website, the next step is to create what will be your “home” or “welcome” page. Under “Pages” click “Add New” and create your page.
Next you want to tell WordPress to display that page as your site’s home page, instead of the default listing of the newest blog posts. To do this, go to “Settings” then click “Reading.” You’ll see a choice labeled “Front page displays” and this is where you want to click “A static page” and then choose your front page in the drop down. Save your changes with the button at the bottom of the page.
Now you can change your sidebar widgets. Under “Appearance” click “Widgets” and you’ll see where you can drag and drop your choices of things to appear on the sidebar of your website. Since you’re not creating a blog, you don’t want to include widgets like “Categories” or “Recent Posts.” Instead use “Pages.” If you want to add a subscribe form for your newsletter you can use a “Text” widget.
You may want to install and activate the plugin “Page Mash” to make it easier to manage your navigation. It will allow you to easily organize the order the pages appear in and hide pages as needed.
Depending on the theme you’ve chosen you may find you want to make additional customizations or changes. This is where a premium theme can be handy. If you purchase a premium theme from a company like StudioPress, WooThemes, iThemes or Thesis they will assist you in further customizations to your website.
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