Do you want to add an event calendar to your WordPress website?
A calendar is a great way to share in-person and virtual events with your visitors. You can use one to promote your upcoming events, get more people to attend, and help with brand awareness.
In this article, we’ll show you how to easily create a simple event calendar in WordPress with Sugar Calendar.
Why Create a Simple Event Calendar For Your WordPress Website?
By adding a calendar in WordPress, you can show upcoming events to your visitors.
This makes it easy for people to learn about your upcoming webinars, virtual retreats, online sermons, coaching calls, and more. In this way, a calendar can promote your events and encourage more people to attend.
If you have a membership website or a forum, then you can even accept user-submitted events. This is a great way to build a community, attract new visitors, and keep your calendar updated with the latest events. You’ll also save time since you don’t need to research upcoming events and add them to the calendar yourself.
With that being said, let’s see how you can add a simple event calendar to your site.
How to Create a Simple Event Calendar in WordPress
The easiest way to add an event calendar to WordPress is by using Sugar Calendar. It is the best WordPress calendar plugin and has everything you need to create multiple calendars, set start and end times for your events, sync with Google Calendar, and more.
The first thing you need to do is install and activate the Sugar Calendar plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.
Upon activation, head over to the Calendar » Settings page. Here, you can enter your license key into the ‘License Key’ field.
You’ll find this key by logging into your Sugar Calendar account. It’s also in the email you got when you purchased Sugar Calendar.
After that, click on the ‘Verify’ button to check that your license key is valid. Finally, you can click on ‘Save Changes’ to store your settings.
Once you’ve done that, you’re ready to create a calendar by going to Calendar » Calender.
Here, click on the ‘Calendars’ tab.
You can now click on the ‘Add Calendar’ button.
This opens a popup where you can type a title into the ‘Name’ field. Sugar Calendar lets you create multiple calendars, but it only adds a single calendar view to your site. Visitors can switch between the different calendar views using a dropdown menu.
That being said, the ‘Name’ should help visitors tell the difference between the various calendars.
Similar to child pages, you can arrange calendars in parent-child relationships.
Children appear beneath their parents in the WordPress dashboard, so this can be a useful way to organize your calendars. This is particularly true if you have lots of different calendars.
All calendars are parent calendars by default. To create a child calendar, you’ll need to open the ‘Parent’ dropdown and then choose the calendar that you want to use as the parent.
Next, you can add an optional description. Depending on your WordPress theme, this may appear next to the calendar on your website, but not all themes show the calendar description. If you do add a description, then always check that it shows up on your WordPress website.
Finally, you may want to add a color that will appear next to the calendar in your WordPress dashboard. This color-coding can help you group related calendars together, or easily identify a particular calendar.
To add a color, simply click on the ‘Select Color’ switch and then make your selection using the controls that appear.
When you’re happy with the information you’ve entered, click on ‘Add New Calendar’ to go ahead and create your first Sugar Calendar.
You can create multiple calendars simply by repeating the same process described above.
Adding Events in Sugar Calendar
Once you’ve created a calendar, you’re ready to add events to that calendar.
To start, select the ‘Events’ tab and then click on the ‘Add Event’ button.
You can now add all the information about your event, such as date and time, duration, and whether or not it is recurring.
First, you’ll want to go ahead and give the event a name.
Then, add a start time and end date. If the event will last all day, then you can simply check the ‘All-day’ box.
Another option is to set a start and end time, as you can see in the following image.
By default, Sugar Calendar creates all events as one-time events. However, some events are recurring. For example, you might run a webinar every Monday morning or have a monthly meetup for all the volunteers at your nonprofit organization.
To create a recurring event, simply select the ‘Recurrence’ tab, and then choose an option from the ‘Repeat’ dropdown, such as Daily, Weekly, or Monthly.
You can also set an optional ‘End Repeat’ date, which is when the event stops recurring. For example, you might only plan to run webinars until the end of the year.
If you’re organizing an in-person event, then you can also select the ‘Location’ tab and type in where this event will take place.
Next, enter some information about the event in the ‘Details’ box.
This works exactly the same as the WordPress classic editor so you can add images, videos, and formatting.
You can also add a featured image, which will appear on the event’s page. This can make the page more engaging and may also be used in search results and on social media news feeds.
To add a featured image, simply click on ‘Set featured image’ and then either choose an image from the media library or upload a new file.
In the ‘Calendars’ section, find the calendar where you want to add this event.
You can then click to select its radio button.
You can also create a new calendar in this section, simply by clicking on the ‘Add New Calendar’ button.
This adds some settings where you can give the new calendar a name and assign it an optional parent calendar.
Once you’ve entered all the information, just click on the ‘Publish’ button.
You can repeat this process to add more events to the calendar.
Putting Your Events Calendar on Your Website
You can add a calendar to any post or page using shortcode. If you’ve created multiple calendars then visitors can switch between these different calendars using a dropdown.
We’ll add the calendar to a new WordPress page, but the steps will be similar no matter where you’re adding the calendar.
First, go to Pages » Add New in your admin panel. If you want to add it to an existing page, simply click ‘Edit’ under its name on Pages » All Pages.
You can then click on the ‘+’ icon to create a new block and type in ‘Shortcode.’ When the right block appears, click on it to add it to the page.
Next, copy the shortcode[sc_events_calendar] into the shortcode block. For more details, please see our guide on how to add a shortcode in WordPress.
You can now publish or update the page to make the calendar live on your website.
To see more information about an event in the calendar, simply click on it.
This will open the event’s page showing the time, date, and any other details.
Sugar Calendar also has a widget that you can add to any widget-ready area of your WordPress theme. This is an easy way to add a calendar to every page of your website or WordPress blog.
The widget also lets you set a default calendar, which will be selected in the dropdown menu. This gives you more control over which events visitors see.
To add a widget in WordPress, simply go to Appearance »Widgets. Here, click on the blue ‘+’ button.
You can then type in ‘Sugar Calendar.’
There are a few different Sugar Calendar widgets, so make sure you select the ‘Event Calendar’ widget.
Now simply drag and drop the widget onto the area where you want to show the calendar.
At this point, you can add an optional title and change the size of the calendar.
To change the default calendar, open the ‘Calendar’ dropdown and then choose an option from the list.
By default, Sugar Calendar will show the current month when the page loads, but you may prefer to show a different month instead. To make this change, simply type a new date into the ‘Default Month & Year’ field.
Once you’re finished, don’t forget to click on the ‘Update’ button. Your Sugar Calendar widget will now show up on your site!
We hope this article helped you learn how to create a simple event calendar with Sugar Calendar. You might also like our article on the best email marketing services and best push notification software, so you can keep your users updated about new events and activities.
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Do you want to change the font size in your WordPress posts or pages?
Sometimes you may want to make a line or a paragraph larger, or you might want to increase the font size on the entire page.
In this article, we’ll show you how to easily change the font size in WordPress posts and themes.
Video Tutorial
If you’d prefer written instructions, just keep reading.
Method 1: Using Paragraph Headings
Using headings in your content is a great way to grab user attention with a larger-size font. In most WordPress themes, headings are in a larger font than regular body text. They allow you to break your posts and pages into sections.
Headings are great for SEO as well. Search engines give proper headings more weight than normal paragraph text.
How to add a heading in the default WordPress block editor
You can add a heading to your posts or pages by simply adding the ‘Heading’ block. You can search for it or find it in the ‘Text’ section in the WordPress block editor.
The block will default to Heading 2. Normally, it makes sense to stick with Heading 2 for your subheadings. If you want to change this, then you can simply click on the ‘H2’ drop-down to select a different size.
Alternatively, you can change this in the block settings on the right-hand side of the screen. You can also change the heading’s color there as well.
How to add a heading in the older Classic Editor
If you are still using the older classic editor in WordPress, then you can add headings using the ‘Paragraph’ drop-down.
Just highlight the text that you want to turn into a heading, click the ‘Paragraph’ drop-down, and select your heading size.
The sizes and colors of the different Heading styles are controlled by your theme’s stylesheet (style.css).
If you’re using a premium WordPress theme, then you may have the option to change these settings under Appearance » Customize.
Method 2: Changing the Size of the Text in the Block Editor
What if you want to have a paragraph or even your whole post in a larger font? You can do this easily using the default WordPress block editor.
Just click on any paragraph block, then select the font size under ‘Typography’ on the right-hand side.
You can select from the drop-down, which covers Small, Normal, Medium, Large, and Huge. If you change your mind, then just click the ‘Reset’ button to set your paragraph back to the default text.
There’s also a ‘Custom’ option where you can simply type in the pixel size that you’d like. If you want, you can also set a large Drop Cap to appear at the start of your paragraph.
These options aren’t available in the older classic editor for WordPress. If you want to use them, then think about making the switch. Our tutorial on how to use the new WordPress block editor will help you.
If you are determined to stick with the classic editor, then this next option is for you.
Method 3: Change Font Size Using Advanced Editor Tools
Advanced Editor Tools, previously known as TinyMCE Advanced, is a WordPress plugin that gives you more control over font sizes and text formatting, as well as a range of other features.
This is particularly useful with the older classic editor, but it also works with the block editor. It adds a new block called “Classic Paragraph” that has all the formatting controls.
Next, go to Settings » Advanced Editor Tool (TinyMCE Advanced) to configure the editor settings. This is where you can set up the buttons you want to use in the TinyMCE Advanced toolbar.
If you’re using it with the Classic editor, then you should see that TinyMCE has the ‘Font Size’ drop-down enabled by default in the second row of icons.
You can move it to the first row by dragging it upwards if you want.
If you’re using the block editor, then you’ll need to scroll down the screen and add the Font Sizes drop-down to the toolbar by dragging and dropping it.
Make sure you click ‘Save Changes’ at the bottom of the screen.
To see the button in action, create a new post or edit an existing one.
In the block editor, you’ll now have the option to add a ‘Classic Paragraph’ block. It will have the Advanced controls, like this:
In the classic editor, you’ll see the toolbars with a font size drop-down:
You can select any font size from the drop-down.
Note: this doesn’t give you as many options as the WordPress block editor, and you can’t type in your own font size.
Method 4: Change Site-Wide Font Size Using CSS
If you are changing font sizes every time you edit a post, then you may want to make it easier by changing it permanently in your theme.
The good news is that you can change the default paragraph size across your whole site. The best way to do this is by using the Theme Customizer under Appearance » Customize.
Some WordPress themes may come with an option for you to change the font size. If you can find this option, then you can use it without writing CSS code.
However, if your theme does not have that feature, then you can add custom CSS to add your own font size rules.
Simply click on the ‘Additional CSS’ option in the theme customizer. This is where you can store all your custom CSS code.
Now under the additional CSS text box, simply add your CSS code. In this example, we are changing the font size to ’16px’, you can choose a different font size.
p { font-size:16px; }
You’ll immediately see the changes on the preview on the right-hand side of the screen. If you’re happy with the font size, click the ‘Publish’ button at the top of your screen to make it live.
Note: Your custom CSS will only be applied to the theme you’re using. If you later choose to switch to a different WordPress theme, you’ll need to copy and paste it into the Customizer again.
The above code only applies to paragraph text. What if you wanted to change the font size of all h2 sub-headings?
Simply modify the above code to target the h2 element in your theme like this:
h2 { font-size:32px; }
You can do the same thing with other headings as well by simply changing h2 to h3, h4, or h5.
Do you want to change the admin color scheme in WordPress?
Changing the color scheme of the WordPress admin lets you create a custom dashboard for you and your team. The color scheme can match the design of your brand, or just feature your favorite colors.
In this article, we’ll show you how to change the admin color scheme in WordPress easily.
Why Change the Admin Color Scheme in WordPress?
If you’re not a fan of the default admin color scheme in WordPress, then you can easily change the color scheme to something you like.
You can also change the color scheme to match the design of your WordPress theme, or even add a dark mode feature.
This can be useful if you have a membership site or online store where users can log in to your site, and want your website and admin dashboard to offer a similar experience.
You could also use a different admin color scheme for your staging site to more easily tell it apart from your live site.
That being said, let’s show you a few different ways you can change the admin color scheme in WordPress. You can use the quick links below to jump straight to the method you want to use.
How to Change the Admin Color Scheme with WordPress Default Settings
WordPress has a built in feature that lets you choose from a few predetermined color palettes for your WordPress admin dashboard.
To change the admin color scheme, simply login to your WordPress admin dashboard, and then navigate to Users » Profile.
After that, select the new color scheme in the ‘Admin Color Scheme’ section by clicking the radio button.
There are 9 different color schemes to choose from.
As you click different options, the color scheme will automatically change.
Once you’ve selected a color scheme you like, you need to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click the ‘Update Profile’ button.
You can also control the admin color scheme for other registered users on your WordPress website.
To do this, go to Users » All Users, and then hover over the user and click the ‘Edit’ button.
Then, simply follow the same process as above to change the admin color scheme for that user.
Once you’re finished, make sure to click the ‘Update Profile’ button at the bottom of the page.
How to Create Custom Admin Color Schemes in WordPress
If you want even more color choices for your admin dashboard, then you can create custom color schemes and upload them to your WordPress blog.
To do this, go to the free WordPress Admin Colors website and click the ’Start Creating’ button.
Then, enter a name into the ‘Color Scheme Name’ box.
This name will show up in your WordPress admin panel as a new color option.
After that, you can fully customize your color scheme by clicking the color options in the ‘Choose your colors’ section.
To change one of the existing colors, click the color and choose your new color from the popup. You can click anywhere on the color picker, or enter a hex code for a specific color.
Once you’re finished customizing your color scheme, click the ‘Generate Color Scheme’ button at the bottom of the page.
This will create the color scheme code that you need to add to WordPress.
On the next page there will be two different code files.
You need to download the CSS file and copy the code snippet and paste it into your favorite text editor. We will be adding these to your WordPress files.
For this tutorial, we’ll use the code snippets plugin WPCode. It’s the easiest and most beginner-friendly method of adding code snippets to your WordPress site.
Upon activation, you’ll have a new menu item labeled ‘Code Snippets’ in your WordPress admin bar. Clicking on it will show you a list of the code snippets you have saved on your site.
Since you’ve just installed the plugin, your list will be empty.
Go ahead and click on the ‘Add New’ button to add your code snippet in WordPress.
Next, you’ll see the ‘Add Snippet’ page.
Navigate to the ‘Add Your Custom Code (New Snippet)’ option and click on the ‘Use snippet’ button.
Then, give your code snippet a name. This can be anything to help you remember the purpose of your code.
Now you can paste the snippet you copied above into the ‘Code’ box. You also need to select the ‘Code Type’ from the dropdown list on the right.
Next, you need to select the insertion method for your code snippet.
You can leave it on the ‘Auto Insert’ method, so it will automatically insert and execute the code snippet in the proper place.
After that, toggle the switch from ‘Inactive’ to ‘Active’ and then click the ‘Save Snippet’ button in the top-right corner of the screen.
This will save the code and activate the new admin color scheme.
Now you need to upload the CSS stylesheet you downloaded earlier to your theme directory in your WordPress hosting account.
To do this, you can use an FTP client, or the file manager option in your WordPress hosting control panel.
First, you need to connect to your website using an FTP client, or the file manager in cPanel. Once you’re connected, you need to navigate to the /wp-content folder.
Inside the wp-content folder, you will see a folder called themes. This is where WordPress stores all the themes your website uses or has used in the past.
You need to click on the themes folder, and then open up the folder for the theme you’re using.
Then, upload the display.css file that you downloaded.
Your CSS file will have the name that you chose earlier.
Note: If you change WordPress themes, then you will need to upload the CSS file to your new theme folder.
After that, navigate to Users » Your Profile.
Then, you can select the new color scheme you just created.
If you want to use this color scheme, then make sure to click the ‘Update Profile’ button at the bottom of the page.
How to Control the Default Admin Color Scheme for New Users
When a new user creates an account, they’ll have the option to customize their color scheme. But, you may want to control the default admin color scheme or prevent users from changing the color scheme altogether.
Do you want to buy a domain name that’s already been taken?
Buying a domain name that is already taken can be expensive and may go wrong if you are not being careful.
In this article, we’ll explain how to buy a taken domain and give you some insider tips and proven strategies to get a good deal.
Note: Unlike other guides on the internet, this resource is based on our actual collective experience of buying premium domains. We have spent anywhere from few hundred to few million dollars in buying premium domains and established website businesses.
The Basics of Buying a Domain Name That’s Already Taken
All websites need a domain name. It is your website’s address on the internet. See our beginner’s guide on how domain names work if you’re not 100% sure what a domain name is.
But what if the domain name you want is already taken?
In that case, you have two options: come up with a different name or buy the one you want from its current owner.
Buying a taken domain name from someone who’s already registered it could be a great move for your business.
However, it’s important to beware of risks and scams so you don’t waste time or money.
That’s why we have put together these tips on how to buy a taken domain as safely as possible.
What to Consider Before Buying a Domain Name
One key question to ask yourself is whether you want to purchase a domain name alone or an established website.
Buying a website, if it’s one that has a consistent track record of making money, can be a great shortcut.
It lets you get a money-making business straight away rather than having to build one from scratch.
However, it’s going to be way more expensive to buy a website than just a domain name. You’ll also have more risks and legal liabilities to consider.
How to Actually Buy a Taken Domain Name
There are two main routes to buying domain names that are already taken:
Privately approaching the domain name’s owner and agreeing on the sale
Look for the name in domain marketplaces.
The first method avoids involving a third party in the sale, and you may be able to persuade the owner towards more favorable pricing.
If the domain name already has a website with a contact form, then you can use that to reach out to the site owner.
Alternatively, you can search for it using the Domain WHOIS tool. You may be able to get the contact details of the owner from the domain details there.
The second method is to look for the name using online domain marketplaces. This is where many domain owners go to sell their domain names.
We recommend using Domain.com. It is one of the best places to register a domain name or buy a domain name for sale.
Simply search for the domain name you are looking for to see if it is available for sale.
Domain names that are already taken may be highlighted as premium domain name with a higher price. If you find the domain name listed there, then you can add it to the cart and proceed to payment.
You can try multiple domain marketplaces like Sedo, Flippa, etc to see if the domain is listed for sale there.
If the domain name is not listed anywhere, then it is probably not available for sale. You can still try the first method of approaching the owner with your offer.
That being said, let’s take a look at tips on making sure you buy your domain name safely.
Tip 1. Avoid Using a Different Extension Instead
If you find that your domain name is taken when using a .com, then you might be tempted to use a different domain extension like .net or .org.
However, this can cause problems as people may forget your domain name and type in .com or .org.
You may even face legal issues if the .com owner argues that you’re trying to infringe on their brand name. This is particularly the case if they’ve registered it as a trademark.
Tip 2. Check the Domain Name isn’t a Registered Trademark
If the domain name is a registered trademark of an existing business, then you could end up having to take your website offline completely in the future.
It’s well worth doing a quick search of the US trademark database to check whether your domain name is already being used by another company. You may also want to check local databases too.
Even a domain name that uses a trademark within it could be a problem. For instance, you can’t use the word “WordPress” in your domain name.
Tip 3. Don’t Get Too Emotionally Attached
Starting a new online business idea is exciting. Since your domain name plays a crucial role, it’s easy to get emotionally attached to a specific name.
However, you need to be smart and rational about all financial investment decisions, including this one.
We recommend keeping your options open and looking around for multiple domain names, or at least giving them serious consideration.
This will help you in negotiation, so you can get the best deal without overpaying for your domain name.
Having options make sure that you don’t end up paying a huge sum of money for a domain name that’s really not any better than something else that was 1/10th of the price.
Tip 4. Check if a Website Has Ever Been Built There
Make sure that you check website history using the Wayback Machine. It is possible that the domain name may have been used by someone else.
It is alright if the domain name has been used before, but you want to make sure that it wasn’t used for malicious, spammy, or illegal activities.
This may harm your business’ reputation and may even cause legal issues in the future. If there’s a Google penalty on the domain, then that could take a lot of work and resources to wipe out.
WayBack Machine is also a smart way of finding domain owner information as well.
Tip 5. Figure Out What the Domain is Worth
Domain name pricing is tricky. If you’re new to buying domains, then you might wonder whether the price you’re being quoted is a bargain, a rip-off, or something in between.
Well, the truth is that there is no standard regulation for premium domain name pricing. Sellers independently decide the price, and it’s up to you as a buyer to decide if it’s worth the investment.
Premium domain names can range from few hundred dollars to a few hundred thousand dollars. Some rare premium domain names even go into the million dollar range.
If you’re new, then you can use a tool like EstiBot to get a general idea of what the domain may be worth.
Disclaimer: Automatic domain name evaluations aren’t necessarily very accurate, but they do show similar domain sales data which is helpful.
If the domain is priced too high (and it often will be), then you’ll need to be prepared to haggle. Don’t start by offering the maximum you’d be willing to consider. Instead, start at a lower price with the expectation that you’ll likely end up meeting halfway.
Keep in mind that there’s a limit to how low the seller will go. Don’t expect someone to accept $500 if they originally asked for $20,000.
However, just because someone asked for $20,000 doesn’t mean you need to meet them half way either. We’ve often secured $20k domain deals in the $3k – $6k range.
Tip 6. Know Exactly What You’re Buying
Make sure you know exactly what you’re going to be getting. Is it just the domain name you’re buying? Or are you buying a website too? If you’re buying the website, then does this include all the content?
Established websites may well use lots of different plugins and tools that the owner has licenses for. It’s unlikely that these licenses will be transferred over to you along with the sale, so you’ll need to be prepared to purchase them for yourself.
You’ll also want to be clear on whether you’re receiving assets like the website’s email list data.
If the domain name or website is a large purchase, then you should definitely have a lawyer draw up a contract for you. Consult someone who’s an expert in IP (Intellectual Property) law.
Even if you’re making a small purchase, be sure to get crucial details in writing at the very least.
Bonus: ask if the owner has access to existing social media accounts for the domain name, so you can get that as part of the deal.
Tip 7. Make Sure You’re Buying From the Domain’s Owner
Imagine this. You hand over your money for a domain name, only to find that the domain has been stolen. You never see your money again, and you’re not the legal owner of the domain either.
It’s a nightmare scenario, but unfortunately, it can happen. A good initial check is to use a tool such as DNS Trails to see whether there have been any recent changes to the DNS records. If you see something odd, then ask for an explanation.
If all your contact with the domain name owner has been through email, it’s well worth getting a phone number, so you actually talk to them. Email accounts can be hacked and email addresses can be faked.
Tip 8. Use Escrow to Transfer the Money
You might be nervous about buying a domain name, particularly for a significant sum. What if the seller takes your money and doesn’t hand over the domain name?
The best solution is to use a site like Escrow.com. You give your money to the site, and they hold it securely until you confirm you’ve received the domain name. At that point, they hand the money to the seller.
Escrow.com has been used for the purchase of some hugely famous domain names, including Twitter.com, Gmail.com, WordPress.com and more. Note that you will need to pay a fee to Escrow.com.
Important: Don’t take a shortcut here and try to save on Escrow fees. We always use Escrow for domain purchases unless the domain owner is willing to transfer the domain to us before receiving payments. Trust us, it’s not worth the risk!
Tip 9. Consider Backordering a Domain You Want
Every day, thousands of domain names get expired and are not renewed or registered. A lot of businesses fail to take off or the domain owners lose interest.
In some cases, the owner might simply forget to re-register the domain.
You don’t have to watch the domain name to see when it’s about to expire. Instead, there are plenty of services that will monitor the domain name on your behalf. They’ll automatically try to register it the moment it’s available.
You can use Network Solutions or GoDaddy for domain backorders. There are plenty of other sites that offer a similar service too.
The problem with back-ordering is that it may not work at all. The domain owner may renew their domain name, or someone else may have placed a backorder before you which will be given priority.
Final Thoughts + Alternative Strategies
Buying a domain name that’s already taken is not easy, and the process can take anywhere from few days to a few months. And if the owner doesn’t want to sell, then it can even take years to convince them.
This is why we always recommend having few options when you’re searching for domains. You can use a domain name generator like Nameboy to come up with ideas.
Here are some clever tips that can also help you come up with alternatives:
Add a verb to your keyword – for example: getpocket.com, getcloudapp.com, and tryinteract.com
Extend your brand with a keyword – for example: invisionapp.com, gogoair.com, etc. Remember Tesla didn’t own tesla.com, so they started with TeslaMotors.com. Buffer didn’t own buffer.com, so they used bufferapp.com in the beginning.
Use abbreviations – for example: wpbeginner.com, wpforms.com, etc.
Use a catch phrase or adjective – for example: optinmonster.com, trustpulse.com, monsterinsights.com, etc.
In today’s age, anyone can look you up on the internet to find more information about you. Creating a personal website allows you to take charge and better manage your online reputation.
In this article, we’ll show you how to easily build your personal website using WordPress, and how to use it boost your online profile like a pro.
Following is a list of topics that we’ll cover in this tutorial:
In our opinion, everyone needs to build a personal website. Whether you are an entrepreneur, small business owner, doctor, professor, real-estate broker, or a student.
In today’s information age, anyone can Google your name and learn a lot more about you than you can imagine.
While having social media profiles is great, social networks come and go. You need a platform of your own where you can publish anything you want. A platform where you are the star.
Building a personal website allows you to market yourself on the internet.
It helps you not just earn trust, which in itself is invaluable. You can also build a following, become a thought leader, make friends, and find a lot of new opportunities.
Even if you don’t like the idea of marketing yourself, you’ll still be judged by what you put online.
That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily build a personal website that actually helps you succeed.
What You Need to Build a Personal Website
First, you need to make sure that you are using the right platform to build your website.
We recommend using WordPress because it is the best website builder on the market. It powers more than 43% of all websites on the internet.
Now, when we say WordPress, we are talking about WordPress.org and not WordPress.com which is a hosting service.
You’ll need the following things to build your personal website using WordPress.
A domain name (e.g. SyedBalkhi.com). This is what users will type in their browsers to reach your website. For personal websites, many people use their own names as domain names when possible.
A website hosting account. This is where all your website files will be stored.
Now, normally a domain name would cost you about $14.99 per year and website hosting starts at $7.99 per month (usually paid annually).
If you are just starting out, then this may sound like a lot of money.
Luckily, the folks at Bluehost have agreed to offer WPBeginner users a free domain name with a generous discount on hosting. Basically, you can get started for $2.75 per month.
Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies in the world and an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.
If you can spend little extra money, then do check out SiteGround or WP Engine. For more hosting recommendations, see our WordPress hosting guide for side-by-side comparisons.
Setting up Your Personal Website
For the sake of this tutorial, we’ll show you setting up a personal website on Bluehost. For other hosting companies, you can see our complete WordPress installation tutorial.
First, you need to visit the Bluehost website and click on the green ‘Get Started Now’ button.
Next, you’ll be asked to choose a hosting plan. Most beginners start with the Basic or Plus plans.
Click ‘Select’ to choose a hosting plan and continue.
After that, you’ll be asked to choose a domain name. Enter your desired domain name and click on the next button to continue.
Next, you will need to add your account information and finalize the package info to complete the process.
On this screen, you’ll see optional extras that you can purchase. We recommend unchecking all of them. You can always add them later if needed.
Lastly, you need to add the payment information to complete the purchase.
Once completed, you’ll receive an email with details on how to login to your web hosting control panel. This is where you manage everything from support, emails, among other things.
Bluehost will automatically install WordPress for you. Simply login to your hosting account dashboard, and then click on login to WordPress button.
This will bring you to your WordPress website dashboard. It will look something like this:
Congrats, you have successfully set up your personal website. In the next few steps, we’ll show you how to configure it to your own style, add content, and make a professional-looking website.
Get a Personal Website WordPress Theme
The way how your personal website looks is very important to make a good first impression.
WordPress comes with thousands of free and premium themes that you can use for your personal website.
However, this abundance of choices also makes it a bit difficult to find the right theme.
To make this choice easier, we have compiled some lists of our favorite WordPress themes under different categories.
It comes with dozens of templates to use as a starting point. After that, you can add new elements with drag and drop or edit any aspect of the layout by simply pointing and clicking.
The best part is that SeedProd is theme agnostic, so it would work with any WordPress theme that you are using on your website.
Creating Content for Your Personal Website
Once you have selected a design for your website, the next step is to start adding content.
WordPress comes with two commonly used content types by default. These are called posts and pages.
While posts are part of a blog, pages are used to create important sections of your website and give it a proper structure.
To create a page, you need to simply head over to Pages » Add New page. First, provide a title for your page and then start adding content below.
WordPress comes with an intuitive content editor that allows you to add content elements as blocks. This way you can create beautiful content layouts for all your posts and pages.
It allows you to easily create beautiful forms for your website using a simple drag and drop tool.
Note: There is also a free version of WPForms with limited features called WPForms Lite.
Adding a Portfolio Section to Your Personal Website
Personal websites allow you to prominently showcase your work by adding a portfolio section.
Many professionals like photographers, artists, writers, designers, programmers, need an easy way to showcase their work on their website.
In WordPress, you have multiple options to beautifully add a portfolio section to your personal website.
1. Add Portfolio Using The Default WordPress Editor
This method is easier, and you can create a portfolio by simply creating a portfolio page to your website.
You can add the default Gallery block to showcase photos and images. You can also create a separate page for each item in your portfolio and then link images on the main portfolio page to the corresponding page.
2. Create a Portfolio Section Using a Plugin
This method is more flexible and recommended for all users.
You can choose to create a portfolio to showcase images, videos, or websites (useful for web designers).
After that, you can add portfolio items by providing details like a thumbnail, description, category, and more.
3. Add Portfolio Using a Gallery Plugin
This method is recommended for creating a media-rich portfolio particularly if you are a photographer, graphics or web designer, video creator, and more.
Envira Gallery allows you to create albums, organize your works by tags, add video galleries, open your gallery images in popups and sliders.
These galleries can be added anywhere and look good on mobile too.
Adding a Blog Section to Your Personal Website
Adding a blog section to your Personal website allows you to easily post regular updates on your website.
These updates could be about your work, personal life, or anything you want. It also helps your personal website to rank for the right keywords related to the main topics of your personal website.
WordPress started out as a blogging platform, so it is still very well equipped to start a blog and grow it.
Simply create a new page in WordPress and give it a title like ‘Blog’.
After that, go to Settings » Reading page and under the ‘Your homepage displays’ option select ‘A static page’ option.
Below that, you can choose the page you want to use as your home page and the blog page you created earlier.
Don’t forget to click on the Save changes button to store your settings.
You can now add the Blog page to your website’s navigation menu.
To write new blog posts, simply go to Posts » Add New page and start writing.
Integrating Your Personal Website to Social Media Profiles
There is no denying that social media can help you promote your personal brand to more audiences.
There are countless WordPress plugins that allow you to integrate social media buttons and widgets on your website. However, many of them will slow down your website which is bad for SEO and user experience.
Following are a few social media plugins that work like a charm without slowing down your website.
Normally, WordPress doesn’t let you embed content from Facebook and Instagram directly. Smash Balloon’s Facebook and Instagram feeds allow you to easily embed content from those platforms in WordPress.
It also works for Facebook Groups, YouTube, and Twitter. You also get options to choose different styles and layout for your feed.
Shared Counts allows you to easily display social sharing buttons on your WordPress posts and pages.
Unlike other social sharing buttons, Shared Counts doesn’t store any data or track users and it is super fast. If you are moving from HTTP to HTTPs then social share count will fetch both so you don’t lose any social share counts.
It works with dozens of essential WordPress plugins like WPForms, MemberPress, WooCommerce, and more. Plus you can connect to apps on Zapier, and even your smart devices using IFTTT.
Basically, you can automate your WordPress site to perform routine tasks behind the scenes.
Start Building an Email List
While social media platforms are a great way to build your personal brand on the internet.
However, you don’t own those platforms and if they block you then you’ll lose your following instantly.
That’s why all the smart marketers will tell you to start building your email list right away. Email marketing gives you direct access to a user’s inbox and it is much cheaper than boosting your posts on social media.
We recommend using Constant Contact which is the most beginner-friendly email marketing service on the market suitable for both personal and small business websites.
Once you have signed up for Constant Contact, you can add an email newsletter sign-up form by using the default embed code or by using WPForms.
However, that won’t get you as many subscribers as you need. For that, we have some more tips ahead.
Growth Hacking for Personal Websites
Now that you have added different types of content to your personal website. It is time to start promoting it to establish your personal brand and grow your influence.
Luckily, WordPress gives you access to powerful tools that help you quickly grow your website without any special marketing skills.
1. Get More Email Sign ups and Social Followers
Simply adding social media buttons to your website or an email sign-up form for your newsletter doesn’t help you gain more followers.
You’ll have to nudge your users with more creative ways to take action.
This is where OptinMonster comes in. It is the best conversion optimization software on the market and allows you to easily convert website visitors into subscribers, leads, and customers.
It comes with intuitive tools like lightbox popups, exit-intent popups, countdown timers, header & footer bars, and more.
You can trigger your campaigns based on a variety of rulesets so that you don’t annoy users and only show them custom messages at the exact time.
2. Optimize your WordPress SEO
SEO (Search Engine Optimization) helps you get more free traffic to your website from search engines.
Many beginners find SEO to be something too technical. Even though WordPress is very SEO friendly out of the box but there is still a lot more you can do.
Over 3 million websites use AIOSEO, and they have a free version as well.
It comes with a set up wizard that will take care of the basic setup for you. After that, it will show you a site-wide SEO audit with practical tips to improve your SEO.
You’ll also see a TruSEO analysis for each post and page on your website with simple instructions for improvement.
Plus, it has advanced features like Schema markup, social media integration, Local SEO, Image SEO, powerful sitemaps, and more.
Now that you have content on your personal website with a basic marketing infrastructure setup, it is time to see how your site is doing.
The easiest way to track your website analytics is by using MonsterInsights. It is the best Google Analytics plugin for WordPress and allows you to easily install Google Analytics on your personal website.
Once installed, it will start showing your most popular content and other website analytics right inside the WordPress dashboard.
