The 10 Step Checklist to Building a WordPress Website

  1. Set up hosting 01:15
    • If you’re serious about your business, be serious about your hosting.
    • We talk about our favorite hosting platforms in episode 46.
  2. Install WordPress 01:39
    • You can’t start building a WordPress site without installing WordPress.
    • Some hosting platforms have installs built-in, but we don’t recommend these. Manual installs are more secure.
    • Recommended tool: Softaculous
  3. Install theme 02:11
    • We recommend the Divi theme from Elegant Themes.
  4. Install plugins 02:37
    • This is for the plugins that you know you will need, like form plugins or SEO plugins. You can add more as you go, but add the basic ones now.
  5. Create pages 03:09
    • Build out the skeleton of the website. As you continue adding to your website, you will fill out these pages.
  6. Set up your menus/header 03:42
    • Use your pages to built out the menus for your website.
  7. Set up footer 03:58
    • The footer will probably be consistent across all of your pages.
    • Once you determine what content and plugins to use, you can populate it for the whole website.
  8. Design the pages and add the content 04:21
    • This is the bulk of the work when creating a WordPress website.
    • Once you have this finished, the site is almost done!
  9. Optimize your website 04:40
    • You’ll want to optimize your website content, speed, and responsiveness.
    • We have many episodes with resources on these topics.
  10. Perform the launch checklist 05:06
    • On episode 68, we created a 7 step checklist for launching a WordPress website.

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