Step 1: Sign up to WordPress.com 

You might already have content – blog posts, photos, videos, and so on – that you want to publish. The next step is to get it online. If you haven’t done so already, go to WordPress.com to start creating your website.

We recommend going with the WordPress.com Pro plan for maximizing your chances of success. The WordPress.com Pro plan offers the best value for small businesses looking to start their website with WordPress.com.

In addition to all of the features you get with the entry-level plan, the Pro plan offers additional features like the ability to install plugins, advanced search engine optimization (SEO) tools, automated site backups and one-click restore, SSH file transfer protocol, and database access. 

Step 2: Choose a domain name

Your site’s domain name is the address where visitors can access your website. It’s the first thing that any visitors will know about you or your site, so picking a good domain name is crucial!

You can choose any domain name that you’d like for your website. It can contain any combination of letters and numbers. Domain names also have domain name extensions (for example, use .com or .net) at the end of the address, which you can use to communicate additional info about your site – .co.uk if you want to emphasize you’re based in the UK, .io if you’re tech-focused, etc.

After deciding on your domain name, you must register it to be able to use it as an address to access your website. Since no two domain names on the internet can be the same, you must think of a unique domain name.

You can get most domain names at around $15 to $25 per year, according to how unique and in-demand the domain name is.

Choosing the right domain name is a hard decision for most people as domain names are most commonly the first thing a user sees when visiting your website. A good domain name has the potential to increase web traffic and user interest, but a bad one will do more harm than good for your brand or business.

Here are some pointers to help you choose a good domain name for your website:

• Length. Less is more when we’re talking about domain names. A two-three word domain is easier to remember than something that’s long and complex. 
• Keywords. Keywords are important if you want users to find you via search and understand what you do. For instance, you can use keywords such as “football” in the domain name itself if you’re running a football-related website. This will let your users know what they’re in for. 
• Brand name. Your brand should also be represented by the domain name of your website so that people can associate your website with your brand. If you use your unique brand name in your domain name, you can increase visits to your website, stand out and maybe also gain a little more recognition.

Step 3: Build and publish your website

Now that you’ve signed up for WordPress.com and chosen a domain name, you can start building your website.

Choose Your Identity

In addition to a domain name, you’ll also need to come up with a Site title. This is what will show up in search results and browser tabs.

Here’s how you can do this using the WordPress.com website builder:

• Log into your WordPress.com account and go to My Site → Manage → Settings.
• Click on the General tab.
• Enter your website’s name in the Site title field.
• Optionally, you can enter a Site tagline to briefly explain what your website is about. It’s a great way to capture the visitor’s attention when they first land on your website.

Once you’ve entered the site title, click the Save settings button to continue. 

Design Your Homepage

Choosing the type and number of elements on your homepage will determine the overall look and feel of your website. A simple blog might just need a single-column text post and a few contact details; a photography portfolio will require a gallery for showcasing your images; and so on.

You can let your imagination do the work and start out with a blank page. You can also use any of WordPress.com’s pre-built page layouts to create a stunning homepage for your website quickly. All you have to do is load up the design and then customize the whole layout based on what you need. You can add your own images and content to the layout.

Create More Pages

After creating the home page, you can add more pages to your website to which you can add more content. Most websites have an About Us page and a Contact page.

Here’s how you can add a page to your WordPress website:

• Log into your WordPress.com account and go to My Site → Site → Pages.
• Click the Add new page button.

• You can start with a blank page or choose a layout.

You can use the WordPress.com block editor to add blocks to your pages. Different blocks let you add different features to your website.

For example, if you wanted to add a contact form to your Contact page, you could simply add the form block to it. Once you’ve built the page, click the Publish button to continue.

Set Up Your Menu

A menu displays a list of links across the top of your website for readers to navigate to different sections of your website. You can add your newly created pages in the previous steps to your website menu.

Here’s how you can use the WordPress website editor to set up your menu:

• Go to My Site → Design → Customize → Menu from your WordPress.com account.
• Click the Primary tab.
• Click the Add items button to add more pages or posts to your primary menu.
• To reorder menu items, click the Reorder link.

You can also choose the menu location and set menu options from the same screen. Once you’re done, click the Save Changes button to continue.

Add Your Social Media Presence

If you’re big on social media, you can use that on your website to promote your social media pages even more. It’s not rare to see social media buttons similar to this on most websites around the web.

You can add these icons to your website’s menu using the Social links menu. Additionally, if you want to add these to a piece of content on any page, you can use the Social icons block to help you with that. Most popular social media platforms are supported by WordPress.com’s editor.