Building website using CMS

BUILDING WEBSITE USING CMS

In this segment you will learn to build Websites easily with CMS (Content Management System) which is a easy to use user friendly webbuilding platform.

WHAT IS CMS?

A content management system (or website building platform) is a user-friendly platform for building websites and managing your own online content, instead of using a bunch of HTML Codes.It helps users who doesn't have basic knowledge about programming to build s website by themselves very easily, it is as easy as working on a word processing tool.Using CMS maintaining the site and modifying and doing changes in the design of the website is too simple.

There are many CMS available but WORDPRESS, JOOMLA & DRUPAL are widely used, in this 3 the most easy to use and very popular CMS is WORDPRESS.

MOST POPULAR CMS

As you can see from the image above, nearly half of the websites on the Internet are running on WordPress platform. 

ADVANTAGES OF WORDPRESS

Very User firendly

If you know how to use Microsoft Word or any word processor, you already know how add your own content. WordPress can be expanded with free plugins to handle just about any site you can imagine,from amazing small business pages to social networking sites. With plugins you'll be able to add contact forms, subscription forms, image galleries and so on for your website.

It's Completely Free

WordPress doesn't cost you anything to download or install it is absolutely free, and there's a huge community who have designed beautiful themes and templates, making it easy to build any website very easily.

Websites will be Responsive

The website you build will instantly be responsive, looking great on every mobile device, smartphone and tablet. No need to fiddle around with codes to make it responsive .

Large Support Community

With so many people using the platform, it is easy to find QUICK help when you need it. In addition, WordPress has lots of free resources both available on Youtube and in various support forum

BUILDING WEBSITE WITH WORDPRESS

Choosing Domain Name and Hosting

The first thing to do to start building a website is to get a Domain name and Hosting.

Domain Name

A domain name (a web address for a website like www.yoursitename.com, www.google.com)

Hosting

Hosting is a service that connects your site to the internet, hosting allows individuals and organizations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server owned or leased for use by clients, as well as providing Internet connectivity, typically in a data center.

The WordPress platform itself is absolutely free, but a domain name and hosting will cost you money,on a average domain name per year cost $9 per year, Basic hosting can be bought from as low as $1 per month. There are many Hosting and Domain companies available like godaddy, BlueHost, Hostgator, bigrock, You can choose any service provider which suits your needs.

Choosing Right Domain

Choosing a domain name is similar to choosing a company name - it requires a lot of thought and consideration. Your domain name is your identity on the web; you want to make sure you choose a name that not only fits your business, but is also easy to find and promote.

Make It Simple and Easy

Finding a domain name that's easy to type and simple is critical to online success.If you're making a website for your business, your domain name should match your company name, For example if you are a tyre replacement company you can choose Tyrerepair.com or tyrereplacement.com, If you're planning to set up a website for yourself, then YourName.com can be a great option.

Memorable & Catchy

There are millions of registered domain names, so having a domain that's catchy and memorable is essential.Try using keywords that describe your business and the services you offer

Appropriate Extension

Extensions are suffixes, such as .com or .net, at the end of web addresses. These can have specific uses, so make sure to choose one that works for your business. The .com domain extension is far and away the most popular

SETTING UP WORDPRESS SITE

After you've bought your domain name and set up your hosting, it's time to get your website up and running. The first thing you'll need to do is install WordPress to your domain.

Installing wordpress

There are two possible ways to install WordPress

One-Click InstallationManual Installation

One-click Installation

Almost every reliable and well-established hosting company has integrated 1-click installation for WordPress, which makes getting going very easy.

If you signed up with Bluehost or Hostgator or any other similar hosting company, you should find your '1-click installation' in your account control panel.

Here are the steps you should follow (should be similar/same on all the major web hosting companies):

Log in to your hosting account.Go to your control panel.Look for the "WordPress" icon.Choose the domain where you want to install your website. Click the "Install Now" button and you should get access to your NEW WordPress website.

Bluehost Control Panel Page

Hostgator Control Panel Page

Manual Installation

In some rare case (some hosting companies don't provide one-click-install for WordPress) you don't have the possibility to install WordPress automatically, look this manual guide below

Download WordPress from here: http://wordpress.org/download.Create a new folder on your desktop and unzip WordPress in it.Look for a file named wp-config-sample.php and rename it to: wp-config.php.Now open the wp-config.php (with notepad for example) and fill the following lines: define('DB_NAME', 'database_name_here'); Database name (if you don't know it, ask this from your hosting support) define('DB_USER', 'username_here'); Your hosting username define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password_here'); Your hosting password After you have filled the gaps, save the file.Now log into your hosting ftp (download FileZilla for that). The FTP address is usually ftp.yourdomain.com, username and password are the same that you used to register to your host.If there is any file named 'index' - delete it. After that upload all the files from your WordPress folder to your FTP server. You can use "drag n drop function in FileZilla.Once you have completed the previous steps, go the URL: yourdomain.com/wp-admin/install.php

This is the page you will see:

CHOOSING THEME FOR THE SITE

After successfull installation of WordPress to your domain, you'll see a very basic clean site.

To change the default basic design of the site to a professionally designed site, we need the a theme - a design template that tells WordPress how your website should look. In wordpress there are thousands of awesome, professionally designed themes you can choose from and customize for a site by yourself.

How to find the theme you like

1. Log into your WordPress dashboard

To log into the wordpress dashboard type in: http://yoursite.com/wp-admin (replace 'yoursite' with your domain).

This is what the WordPress dashboard looks like

2. Accessing Free Theme

Once you're in the dashboard, you've got access to over 1500 free themes! Just look along the side bar for 'Appearance' and then click 'Themes'. Installing a theme is very easy and self-explanatory.

This is Wordpress Theme Page

You can search for specific keywords and/or use filters to find themes that suit your style. Finding the perfect theme can take a while, but it's worth it.You should also look for themes that are 'responsive', as this means they will look good on any mobile device. If you want something more professional or elegant than what you find here, there's a HUGE library of paid professional themes to pick from at varying costs.

3.Installing New Theme

After you have found a theme you like, installing it is as simple as clicking 'Install' followed by 'Activate',Changing themes won't delete your previous posts, pages and content. You can change themes as often as you want without having to worry about losing what you've created.

 

Adding Contents and New Pages

With your theme installed, you're ready to start creating content.

Adding and Editing Pages

Want to add a Home page, or an About Me page

1. Look along the sidebar in the WordPress Dashboard for Pages -> Add New.

2. Once you've clicked, you'll find a screen that looks a lot like what you've maybe seen in Microsoft Word. Add text, images and more to build the page you want, then save it when you're done.

Adding Pages to Menus

To add your new page to the navigation bar Menu

1. After creating the page, Save any changes you've made to the page by clicking Update

2. Click Appearance -> Menus in the sidebar of the WordPress Dashboard

3. Find the page you created and add it to the list by clicking the checkbox next to it and then 'Add to Menu'.

Adding and Editing Posts

If you have a blog on your website, Posts will be where you turn to next. You can use different categories to group similar posts, If you want to add a blog to your website, you can use different categories and posts. Let's say you want to create a category named 'Blog'. To do so, simply add it to your menu and start making posts.

Customization

These are the various customization you can do in your Wordpress site

Changing Site Title & Tagline

The Page titles explain to searchers what your website is about, and they're also a big part of how search engines determine your rankings, so you want to be sure they've got the keywords you want to target the users. You should use a unique title on every page of your site.

Taglines are added at the end of titles across every page.

In order to change the title and tagline on your website, go to 'Settings -> General' and fill the desired title and tagline in the form

Setting Up Static Front Page

A static page is a page that doesn't change. Unlike a blog, where the first new article will show up at the top every time, a 'static' page will show the same content every time someone visits the site.

1. Go to 'Settings -> Reading', Choose a static page that you have created. Front Page' denotes your home page, 'Posts page' is the front page of your blog .

2.If you don't choose a static page on your own, WordPress will take your latest posts and start showing them on your homepage.

Editing sidebar

Most WordPress themes have a sidebar on the right side in some cases it's on the left, If you want to get rid of the sidebar or edit out items you do not need like Categories, Meta and Archives, which are usually pointless, here is the procedure

1. Go to 'Appearance -> Widgets' in the WordPress Dashboard.

2. From the widgets menu, you can use drag n drop to add different boxes to your sidebar, or remove the items you don't want.

Wordpress Plugin

What is Plugin ?

Plugins are extensions that are built to expand WordPress capabilities, adding features and functions to your site that don't come built-in. They're shortcuts to getting your site to do what you want to, without having to build the feature from scratch or do any coding.

You can use plugins to do everything from adding photo galleries and submission forms to optimizing your website and creating an online store.

How to Install Plugin

To install plugins, go to 'Plugins -> Add New' and simply start searching, there are over 25,000 different FREE plugins, so you've got a LOT to choose from. Installation is easy once you find a plugin you like, just click "Install" and "Activate it".

These are the steps to build Fully Functional Wordpress Site