Guidelines to Design Your Website Using WordPress

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Now that you have installed WordPress and set up your website, it’s now time to move on to creating a design forit. It would be helpful to have a clear picture of the end-result that you want to achieve. An effective way to start is to consider the following questions:What is the look and layout you want to apply?Do you have a particular purpose or objective for building your website? Or are there some features you want to include in your default set-up?

The good thing with WordPress is that it is highly configurable and simple to manage. It is likewise easy to use and master. Listed below are the basic steps in designing your WordPress website and adding features and functionality to it.


Step 1: Choose a Theme
There are numerous WordPress themes that can be applied to your website without actually having to put up with those intricate web design techniques, and quite a number of them have also been designed by WordPress experts and enthusiasts. You can get these themes for free or for a certain amount. Pick one that is most appropriate for your requirement. 
You can then configure its default settings by going to the themes option page (if the theme has one). The default theme for WordPress 3.0 is TwentyTen, and you can change it by following these steps.


  1. Log in as “Admin.”
  2. Go to “Appearance” panel, select “Themes,” and check your desired preferences and options.
  3. WordPress will then search for free themes according to the preferences you have selected.
  4. You can now preview the themes and choose the most appropriate one for your requirements.


Step 2: Customizing the Theme
Selecting a desired theme is merely your first step to WordPress customization. A basic knowledge of CSS, HTML and PHP is necessary for you to proceed with the customization of your website’s look and layout. The internet is full of resources and tutorials on these topics. For one, WordPress Codex is a reliable and helpful source of information. Spend some time learning and experimenting and you will become skilled at it in no time.

Step 3: Extend your Website’s Functionality with Plugins
WordPress offers plugins or add-ons to enable optimum enhancement and capability of your website. These plugins are relatively easy to install and can be done without you getting involved in serious coding. Below is a step-by-step guide for installing plugins:


  1. Log in as “Admin.”
  2. Go to “Plugin>Add New.”
  3. Plugins are conveniently listed along with their descriptions. Select one which suits your purpose and click “Install.”
  4. Configure the settings and click “Activate Plugin.”


Learning the basic steps of designing your website by using WordPress is worth your while. Just think of all the thousands of dollars you save when you do all the designing for your website yourself, instead of paying a website company or professional to do it for you. So, what are you waiting for? Click around, tinker, experiment, and save some real money!

Author Bio:-Sunny Popali is SEO Director at http://www.tempocreative.com/. Tempo Creative is an Arizona Inbound Marketing firm that has served over 700 clients since 2001. Tempo's team specializes in digital and internet marketing services including web design, SEO, social media and strategy.





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