WordPress For Beginners: Step-by-Step Guide to Build A Website Without Coding

Hey there! If you are an absolute beginner, don’t have any coding knowledge or technical skills, but want to create a website for your business, I welcome you to the beginner-level WordPress course.

Don’t worry! Even if you have never come across terms like “domain,” “hosting,” “plugins,” and “SEO,” and they sound like gibberish, we’ve got you covered!

This course is designed especially for you. Whether you’re starting a blog, portfolio, or online store, we’ll walk you through the step-by-step process of creating a website with the help of the most popular CMS, WordPress.

This free step-by-step guide breaks down everything you need to know about creating a professional WordPress website in 13 chapters.

By the end of this tutorial, you’ll have enough skills to create a professional website that showcases your business, shares your stories, sells products, and even make money online.

What’s Inside This Course?

1️⃣ 13 Simple Chapters: From “What is WordPress?” to How to monetize your site?
2️⃣ No Jargon: Simple, actionable step-by-step tutorial for absolute beginners.
3️⃣ Real-Life Case Study: Sarah’s journey, how she started a WordPress website without any technical knowledge, added a blog, and started making money online.
4️⃣ Free Tools & Actionable Tips: Plugins, themes, and SEO hacks we swear by.
5️⃣ Free Resources: Checklists, templates, and video tutorials.

Let’s explore what you’ll learn (and where to start!)

Your WordPress Journey, Chapter by Chapter

Let’s dive in!

Ch 1. Understanding WordPress? (And Why Does Everyone Love It?)

“Wait, what even is WordPress?” 🤔
Start here! This chapter explains why 43% of websites use WordPress and why it’s perfect for beginners. You’ll learn the difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org and how to choose the right fit.

Case Study:

Sarah almost quit before starting a WordPress website because she thought it was “too technical,” until she learned:

1. WordPress.org (self-hosted) vs. WordPress.com (hosted): Why self-hosted gives you total control.
2. No coding needed: Drag-and-drop builders like Elementor make designing easy.
3. Free & flexible: Thousands of themes and plugins to customize anything on her WordPress website.

Sarah’s “Aha!” Moment: She chose WordPress.org, a self-hosted platform, after realizing she didn’t need any technical skills. Moreover, she also knew she could monetize her food blog “SweetTreatsBySarah.com” freely by displaying ads on her website using a publisher’s network like Google AdSense.

Ch 2. Planning and Structuring a WordPress Website

Before you build a WordPress website, you need a blueprint! 🗺️
This chapter helps you define your website’s purpose, map out pages, and organize content. Perfect for overthinkers (we see you!).

Case Study:

“Why do I need a plan? Can’t I start writing straightaway?”
Sarah thought the same until her site “SweetTreatsBySarah.com” became cluttered. Here’s how she fixed it:

1. Define niche: She focused on “easy vegan desserts” instead of generic baking.
2. Map pages: Sketched essential pages like Home, About, Blog, Contact, Privacy, and a “Free Recipes” landing page for her food blog.
3. Content calendar: She planned 10 posts/month using Trello (e.g., “10 Mug Cake Recipes”).

Sarah’s Mistake: She initially published random posts (cake decorating, keto recipes) and confused her audience. However, later she changed her mind and focused on a niche, “easy vegan desserts”.

Ch 3. Choosing the Best SEO-Friendly Domain & Hosting

Your domain is your digital address—let’s pick one that Google loves! 🔍
In this chapter, we’ve compared top hosting providers (spoiler: SiteGround and Bluehost are winners) and show you how to install WordPress in 5 minutes.

Case Study:

“Do I really need to pay for hosting?”
Sarah almost used a free “SweetTreatsBySarah.wordpress.com” domain, but realized it looked unprofessional. Here’s what she learned:

1. Domain names: Pick short, memorable names (she chose SweetTreatsBySarah.com).
2. Hosting providers: SiteGround’s $3.99/month plan gave her 24/7 support and 1-click WordPress installs.
3. SEO-friendly URLs: Avoid numbers/hyphens (e.g., sweettreatsbysarah.com/best-vegan-cakes).

Sarah’s Win: Her domain ranked on Google within 3 months for the keyword ‘easy vegan desserts’!

Ch 4. Mastering the WordPress Dashboard

The dashboard is your WordPress website’s cockpit—let’s decode it! ✈️
In this chapter, you’ll learn how to navigate all settings, posts, pages, themes, and plugins in your WordPress dashboard like a pro.

Bonus: WordPress dashboard settings you MUST configure ASAP.

Case Study:

“This dashboard looked like a spaceship control panel!”
Sarah felt overwhelmed at first, but after breaking it down, she was able to understand:

1. Posts vs. Pages: Blog posts = time-sensitive (e.g., “Holiday Recipes”), Pages = static (About, Contact).
2. Themes & Plugins: Installed the Astra theme for added customizations. Installed the Yoast SEO plugin in minutes for better organic ranking in SERP.
3. Settings: Changed permalinks to “Post Name” for cleaner URLs.

Sarah’s Tip: She bookmarked the “Screen Options” tab to hide clutter.

Ch 5. A Detailed Guide to WordPress Themes

Make your site pretty (and functional!) without hiring a designer. 🎨
In chapter 5, we’ve reviewed free vs. premium themes (Astra, Generate Press, Divi) and explained how to customize layouts with drag-and-drop tools.

Case Study:

“How do I make my site NOT look like a generic template?”
Sarah tried 10+ free themes before finding her winner theme, Astra.

1. Free vs. Premium: Astra (free) gave her a clean base, which she customized with Elementor. Later, she updated her theme to Astra Pro.
2. Mobile-responsive: Tested her theme Astra on iPhone + Android using Responsinator.
3. Speed matters: She avoided “feature-heavy” themes because they slowed down her site.

Sarah’s Regret: She wasted a week on a free, slow theme with bulky sliders. She could have chosen the free theme, which could be upgraded to a pro version as her site grew and required more control and customization.

Ch 6. Crafting Essential Pages (Home, About, Contact)

First impressions matter. Let’s build pages that hook visitors! 💥
Steal our templates for writing killer About pages, designing contact forms, and adding trust-boosting elements.

Case Study:

“My About page is so cringe. Help!”
Sarah’s first About page was a rambling life story. Here’s how she fixed it:

1. Homepage: Added a hero image of her desserts, a “Get Free Recipes” CTA, and testimonials.
2. About Page: Focused on her mission—“Helping busy moms bake vegan treats in 20 mins.”
3. Contact Page: Used WPForms plugin to add a simple form + her social handles.

Sarah’s Hack: She added a “My Baking Failures” section to her About page—readers loved the honesty!

Ch 7. Writing Your First SEO-Friendly Blog Post

Now it’s time to go viral. 🚀
Learn keyword research, headline hacks, and formatting tricks to make Google and Bing (and readers) love your content.

Case Study:

“Why isn’t anyone reading my posts?”
Sarah’s first post got 10 views—until she learned SEO:

1. Keyword research: Targeted “easy vegan cupcakes” (500 monthly searches, low competition).
2. Headlines: Switched from “Cupcake Recipe” to “10 Vegan Cupcakes That WOWED My Family”.
3. Readability: Broke walls of text into bullet points and subheadings.

Sarah’s Win: That post now ranks #1 on Google and brings 1k+ visitors/month.

Ch 8. Must-Have WordPress Plugins

Plugins are your website’s superpowers. Let’s unlock them! ⚡
In this chapter, we’ve covered SEO (Yoast, AISEO, RankMath), security (Wordfence and more), speed (WP Rocket, etc.), and more. Avoid plugin overload with our curated list.

Case Study:

“Plugins? Isn’t that just more bloat?”
Sarah installed 30+ plugins and crashed her site. Now she uses just 5 essential WordPress plugins:

1. Yoast SEO: Optimizes every post for keywords.
2. WP Rocket: Cached her site, cutting load time from 8s to 2s.
3. Wordfence: Blocked 50+ hacking attempts in a month.
4. + Two more plugins.

Sarah’s Advice: “Less is more. Only install plugins that solve a problem.”

Ch 9. Tracking Visitors With Google Analytics

Who’s visiting your site? Let’s spy (ethically!). 🕵️
Learn to track who is visiting your site. Connect Google Analytics in minutes, interpret key metrics, and fix “high bounce rate” pages.

Case Study:

“Is anyone even reading my blog?”
Sarah connected Google Analytics and discovered:

1. Top traffic source: Pinterest (60% of her visitors).
2. Bounce rate: 70% on her homepage (she redesigned it!).
3. Popular posts: Her “Vegan Cheesecake” guide was a sleeper hit.

Sarah’s Move: She doubled down on Pinterest and saw traffic jump by 200%.

Ch 10. Locking Down Your Website (Security Guide)

Hackers hate these tricks! 🔒
From SSL setup to malware scans, learn how to protect your site like Fort Knox.

Case Study:

“Hackers won’t target me… right?”
Sarah’s site “SweetTreatsBySarah.com” got hacked 3 months in—here’s how she fixed it:

• Installed Wordfence: Scanned and removed malware.
• Enabled SSL: Got a free certificate from SiteGround.
• 2FA: Added two-factor authentication for logins.

Sarah’s Relief: No breaches in 2 years!

Ch 11. Speed Optimization Techniques

Slow sites lose visitors—let’s turbocharge yours! 🚗💨
In this chapter, you’ll learn to compress images, enable caching, and fix “PageSpeed Insights” errors.

Case Study:

“My site takes 10 seconds to load. Is that bad?”
Sarah’s slow site lost 70% of visitors. She fixed it by:

1. Compressing images: Used ShortPixel to shrink file sizes.
2. Enabling caching: WP Rocket created static HTML files.
3. Ditching bad plugins: Removed unused social share buttons.

Sarah’s Result: Load time dropped to 1.9s—bounce rate fell to 40%.

Ch 12. Monetizing Your WordPress Site

Turn traffic into cash. Yes! You can make money from your WordPress website to pay your hosting bills. 💸
Explore affiliate marketing, AdSense, digital products, sponsored posts, and other tools to monetize your WordPress website.

Case Study:

“Can I really make money from baking blogs?”
Sarah doubted it—until she earned $3k/month with:

1. Affiliate marketing: Promoted baking tools via Amazon Associates.
2. AdSense: Added tasteful ads between posts.
3. Digital products: Sold a $29 “Vegan Dessert eBook.”

Sarah’s Proudest Moment: Her first $500 affiliate payout!

Ch 13. Maintaining and Growing Your Website

The final chapter (but not the end!). 🌱
Learn monthly maintenance checklists, scale traffic, and build a loyal community.

Case Study:

“How do I keep this going long-term?”
Sarah’s 3-part routine for growth:

1. Monthly maintenance: Backups, updates, and speed checks.
2. Quarterly audits: Refreshes old posts and fixes broken links.
3. Community building: Runs a Facebook group for vegan bakers.

Sarah’s Secret: She celebrates small wins (like hitting 10k visitors) to stay motivated.

Sarah’s Final Words (And Yours Too!)

When Sarah started, she didn’t know HTML from a hashtag. Today, she runs a thriving blog, collaborates with brands, and has even hired a part-time editor. Your journey could look the same!

Ready to Start Your Journey Today? Click any chapter to dive in, or begin with Chapter 1: What is WordPress?

Stuck? Bookmark this page—it’s your roadmap!