Building with WordPress
Step-by-step guide to installing, designing, and maintaining a WordPress site on shared hosting.
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
WordPress makes more sense when you understand all its moving parts. This opening tutorial explains how the software, hosting, themes, plugins, and database fit together, and why that setup gives you so much control.
- 19
- 2
- 10 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
WordPress and site builders can both get a site online, but they give you very different kinds of control. We look at what happens to your content in terms of flexibility and future options once the honeymoon period is over.
- 22
- 2
- 8 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
A first WordPress site gets easier once you know what job the site is supposed to do. This tutorial helps you separate the differences between brochure sites, blogs, and stores and how you might choose to set each up differently.
- 25
- 5
- 7 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
Hosting plans get marketed like bigger always means better, which is how a lot of people end up paying for complexity they do not need. This tutorial explains where shared hosting, WordPress hosting, and VPS each make sense in real life.
- 21
- 2
- 9 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
It's time to turn your hosting account into a working WordPress site. This tutorial shows you the fast installation routes available to you as well as how to install WordPress manually.
- 9
- 2
- 14 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
A fresh WordPress install is full of defaults you probably don't want to keep. This tutorial walks through the first cleanup and setup pass so your site stops feeling like a generic demo and is ready for real content.
- 14
- 14 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
Themes shape how a WordPress site looks, but the better ones also know when to stay out of the way. We explain why Astra is such a common starting point and how to set it up.
- 13
- 1
- 9 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
The WordPress Gutenberg editor is more capable than a lot of people realize when they only use it for basic posts. This tutorial shows how blocks and patterns can carry a real site before you decide if you need a page builder.
- 3
- 2
- 9 min
Richard Sutherland
Beginner
Elementor is useful when the block editor stops short of the layout you have in mind. This part of the series covers when it earns its place, what it needs to run well, and how to avoid turning your site into a plugin pile.
- 5
- 2
- 10 min