TL;DR: How to build a Wordpress website that ranks and doing it the right way from day one saves you months of fixes later. This comprehensive guide takes you from complete beginner to launching an SEO-optimised website that search engines love.
What you’ll achieve: A fast, secure, mobile-friendly WordPress site with solid SEO foundations
Time needed: 4-8 hours (spread over a few days)
Skill level: Beginner-friendly with advanced tips included
Table of Contents
Part 1: Foundation (1-2 hours)
Part 2: Design and Functionality (1-2 hours)
Part 3: Content and SEO (2-3 hours)
Part 4: Launch and Growth (1 hour + ongoing)
Part 1: Foundation
Step 1: Planning Your Website Strategy
Before touching any technical settings on how to build a Wordpress website, define your website’s purpose and structure. This planning stage prevents costly redesigns later.
Define Your Website Purpose
Answer these key questions:
- Primary goal: Is this a blog, business site, portfolio, or online shop?
- Target audience: Who will visit your site and what do they need?
- Content strategy: What topics will you cover regularly?
- Success metrics: How will you measure your website’s effectiveness?
Map Your Site Structure
Sketch out your main sections:
- Homepage: Your main landing page
- Core pages: About, Services, Contact (adapt to your needs)
- Content categories: Blog topics or service areas
- Navigation flow: How users move through your site
Competitor Research
Spend 15 minutes reviewing 3-5 similar websites:
- What pages do they include?
- How is their navigation organised?
- What content gaps can you fill?
- What works well that you could adapt?
Step 2: Choosing Domain and Hosting
Your domain and hosting form your wordpress website’s foundation. Choose wisely here to avoid headaches later.
Domain Name Selection
Best practices:
- Keep it under 15 characters when possible
- Avoid hyphens and numbers
- Choose .com unless you have a specific reason for another extension
- Make it memorable and brandable
- Include your main keyword only if it sounds natural
Domain checklist:
- Available across social media platforms
- No trademark conflicts
- Easy to spell over the phone
- Sounds professional when spoken aloud
Hosting Provider Comparison
| Feature | Shared Hosting | Managed WordPress | VPS/Cloud |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cost | £3-8/month | £15-50/month | £20-100/month |
| Best for | New sites | Growing businesses | High traffic sites |
| Performance | Basic | Optimised | Customisable |
| Support | General | WordPress experts | Technical knowledge needed |
Essential hosting features:
- 99.9%+ uptime guarantee
- Free SSL certificate included
- Automatic daily backups
- PHP 8.0+ support
- One-click WordPress install
- UK-based servers (if targeting UK audience)
Recommended UK hosting providers:
- Beginner-friendly: SiteGround, Bluehost UK
- Performance-focused: WP Engine, Kinsta
- Budget option: Namecheap, Hostinger
Step 3: WordPress Installation
Most modern hosting providers offer one-click WordPress installation. Here’s how to build a Wordpress website properly with one-click.
Automatic Installation Process
- Log into your hosting control panel
- Find the WordPress installer (usually called “WordPress”, “Softaculous”, or “One-Click Install”)
- Choose your domain and leave the directory field blank for main domain installation
- Set up admin account:
- Username: Avoid “admin” for security
- Password: Use a strong, unique password
- Email: Use your main business email
Essential Post-Installation Settings
General Settings (Settings → General):
- Set your site title and tagline
- Confirm your timezone
- Set date and time formats
Permalink Structure (Settings → Permalinks):
- Choose “Post name” structure for SEO-friendly URLs
- This creates clean URLs like: yoursite.com/page-title
Privacy Settings:
- Ensure “Discourage search engines” is unticked (unless building in private)
SSL Certificate Setup
- Verify SSL is active (look for padlock in browser)
- Update WordPress URLs to use https://
- Set up 301 redirects from http to https
- Update any hardcoded http links in content
Part 2: Design and Functionality
Step 4: Theme Selection and Setup
Your theme affects everything from user experience to search engine rankings. Choose carefully.
Theme Selection Criteria
Performance requirements:
- Mobile-responsive design
- Fast loading speeds (test with Google PageSpeed Insights)
- Clean, minimal code
- Regular updates from developer
Functionality needs:
- Customisation options match your brand
- Compatible with popular plugins
- Good review ratings (4+ stars)
- Responsive support team
Recommended Theme Sources
Free options:
- Astra: Lightweight and customisable
- GeneratePress: Fast and flexible
- Kadence: Modern with good blocks
Premium options:
- Divi: Visual builder included
- Avada: Highly customisable
- OceanWP: E-commerce ready
Theme Configuration Steps
- Install and activate your chosen theme
- Set up child theme (essential for maintaining customisations):
- Install a child theme plugin or create manually
- This protects your changes when the theme updates
- Customise basic elements (Appearance → Customise):
- Upload your logo
- Set brand colours
- Choose fonts that match your brand
- Configure header and footer layouts
- Create navigation menus (Appearance → Menus):
- Primary navigation menu
- Footer menu (if needed)
- Add pages as you create them
Step 5: Essential Plugin Installation
Plugins extend WordPress functionality, but too many can slow your site. Install only what you need.
Core Plugin Categories
SEO Optimisation (Choose one):
- Yoast SEO: Beginner-friendly with traffic light system
- Rank Math: More features, slightly more advanced
- All in One SEO: Good middle ground
Performance and Caching (Choose one):
- WP Super Cache: Simple and reliable
- W3 Total Cache: More configuration options
- WP Rocket: Premium but excellent performance
Security (Choose one):
- Wordfence: Comprehensive security suite
- Sucuri: Good for malware scanning
- iThemes Security: User-friendly interface
Backup Solutions (Choose one):
- UpdraftPlus: Easy restoration process
- BackWPup: Free with good features
- Jetpack Backup: Integrated with other Jetpack features
Cookies notices (Choose one):
- CookieYes
- CookieBot
- Cookie Notice
It’s important to note, that plugins do extend Wordpress’ functionality, they also require maintenance. We recommend our Wordpress care plans for our clients, you can also read about why you should consider it
Plugin Installation Best Practices
- Research before installing:
- Check recent reviews and ratings
- Confirm regular updates
- Test compatibility with your theme
- Install plugins one at a time:
- Test your site after each installation
- Check for conflicts or slowdowns
- Deactivate if issues arise
- Research before installing:
- Configure immediately:
- Don’t leave plugins unconfigured
- Review all settings carefully
- Test functionality after setup
Step 6: Basic Configuration
Fine-tune WordPress settings for optimal performance and user experience.
Reading Settings (Settings → Reading)
- Choose static homepage or blog layout
- If static, assign your homepage and blog page
- Set blog posts per page (10-12 is optimal)
Discussion Settings (Settings → Discussion)
- Decide on comment policy
- Enable comment moderation to prevent spam
- Set notification preferences
Media Settings (Settings → Media)
- Set maximum image dimensions
- Consider thumbnail sizes for your theme
- Install image compression plugin
Part 3: Content and SEO
Step 7: Creating Core Pages
Quality content forms the backbone of any successful website. Start with essential pages that build trust and provide value.
Essential Page Checklist
Homepage:
- Clear headline explaining what you do
- Brief description of your main services/content
- Call-to-action buttons
- Navigation to key sections
- Contact information or social links
About Page:
- Your story and mission
- Why you’re qualified/passionate about your topic
- Personal photo (builds trust)
- Your unique value proposition
Contact Page:
- Contact form (use Contact Form 7 plugin)
- Physical address (if relevant)
- Phone number and email
- Business hours
- Map integration (Google Maps)
Services/Products Page:
- Clear descriptions of what you offer
- Benefits for customers
- Pricing (if appropriate)
- Testimonials or social proof
Legal and Trust Pages
Privacy Policy:
- Required by GDPR if you have EU visitors
- Use WordPress’s privacy policy generator as starting point
- Customise for your specific data collection
Terms and Conditions:
- Protects your business legally
- Consider using a legal template service
- Include copyright and usage terms
Content Writing Tips
Structure for readability:
- Use short paragraphs (2-3 sentences maximum)
- Include subheadings every 200-300 words
- Add bullet points and numbered lists
- Use images to break up text
Write for your audience:
- Use language they understand
- Address their problems and concerns
- Include relevant examples and stories
- End with clear next steps
Step 8: SEO Foundation Setup
Proper SEO setup from the start helps search engines understand and rank your content.
Keyword Research Basics
Understanding keyword types:
- Head terms: Short, high-volume (e.g., “WordPress”)
- Long-tail: Longer, more specific (e.g., “how to install WordPress on UK hosting”)
- Local: Include location (e.g., “web designer Manchester”)
Free keyword research tools:
- Google Keyword Planner: Search volume data
- Ubersuggest: Keyword suggestions and competition
- Answer The Public: Question-based keywords
- Google Autocomplete: Real user searches
On-Page SEO Setup
Meta titles and descriptions:
- Write unique titles for each page (50-60 characters)
- Include main keyword near the beginning
- Write compelling meta descriptions (150-160 characters)
- Include call-to-action in descriptions
Heading structure:
- One H1 per page (usually your page title)
- Use H2s for main sections
- Use H3s for subsections
- Include keywords naturally in headings
URL optimisation:
- Keep URLs short and descriptive
- Include main keyword
- Remove stop words (the, and, of)
- Use hyphens to separate words
Technical SEO Fundamentals
XML Sitemaps:
- Install SEO plugin to generate automatically
- Submit sitemap to Google Search Console
- Check that all important pages are included
Robots.txt file:
- Create at
yourdomain.com/robots.txt - Don’t block important pages accidentally
- Include sitemap location
Mobile optimisation:
- Test your site on mobile devices
- Use Google’s Mobile-Friendly Test tool
- Ensure buttons and links are easily tappable
- Check loading speed on mobile connections
Site speed optimisation:
- Install caching plugin
- Compress and optimise images
- Choose fast hosting
- Use content delivery network (CDN) if needed
SEO Plugin Configuration
Yoast SEO setup example:
- Run configuration wizard
- Set up Search Console connection
- Configure social media profiles
- Set default meta templates
- Enable XML sitemaps
- Configure breadcrumbs if theme supports them
Step 9: Internal Linking Strategy
Internal links help search engines crawl your site and keep visitors engaged longer.
Internal Linking Best Practices
Link contextually:
- Link to relevant, helpful content
- Use descriptive anchor text (avoid “click here”)
- Link naturally within your content
- Don’t force links where they don’t fit
Site structure hierarchy:
- Homepage links to main category pages
- Category pages link to individual posts/pages
- Posts link to related content and back to categories
- Create topic clusters around main themes
Cornerstone Content Strategy
Identify your cornerstone content:
- Your most comprehensive, authoritative pages
- Main service pages or key blog posts
- Content you want to rank highly
- Pages that represent your expertise
Link building for cornerstone content:
- Link to cornerstone content from multiple other pages
- Use varied but relevant anchor text
- Update older content to link to new cornerstone pieces
- Create related content that naturally links back
Part 4: Launch and Growth
Step 10: Security and Maintenance
Secure your website before launching to prevent future headaches and data loss.
Security Hardening Checklist
User account security:
- Use strong, unique passwords
- Avoid username “admin”
- Set up two-factor authentication
- Create separate user accounts for different team members
WordPress security settings:
- Keep WordPress, themes, and plugins updated
- Remove unused themes and plugins
- Hide WordPress version number
- Disable file editing in dashboard
Backup configuration:
- Set up automatic daily backups
- Store backups off-site (cloud storage)
- Test backup restoration process
- Schedule regular backup checks
Step 11: Pre-Launch Checklist
Double-check everything before making your site public.
Technical Testing
Functionality checks:
- All forms work correctly
- Navigation menus function properly
- Images display correctly
- Videos play without issues
How to Build Wordpress website – What QED do and use.
Our website’s infrastructure:
Themes
At QED web design we’ve used lots of different themes and plugins over the years, ranging from the bog standard Automattic Twenty type themes, to an expensive bought theme from an external marketplace, to what we currently use now.
- Hello by Elementor
As we use the Elementor builder, which gives us the best combination of flexibility and speed to deploy vs hand coding everything, we use their Hello theme. It’s a free, lightweight and highly customisable theme which always ranks well with wp experts.
Hosting
Whilst we haven’t mentioned it above, we use Krystal.io hosting. Why? Because they genuinely care about the damage that the internet is causing. They have data centers in the UK and elsewhere, all powered by sustainable energy plus they plant trees as well as part of carbon offsetting.
We’ve found this key to us sustainably building wordpress websites, our portfolio is full of examples of how we’ve achieved this. From Morgan-Huntley Associates – reducing their carbon footprint by 95%, to the Ancient Shepherds by Mark Poynton restaurant website.
Plugins
Most web designers have a set of go to plugins they use, here are some of the ones we tend to use:
- Classic editor
- Elementor (sometimes the pro version if required)
- QED stop auto wp capitalise plugin
- Backuply
- Rank Math SEO
This isn’t to say they are better or worse than their competitors, and we’ll often re-evaluate what we use, we’ve recently moved most of sites to Rank Math SEO from Yoast for example.
Security
We’ve omitted in step 10 how we harden our sites with improved header security, these cover:
- Strict-Transport-Security (HSTS),
- Content-Security-Policy (CSP),
- X-Frame options,
- X-Content-type-options,
- Referrer-policy,
- and Permissions-policy
These would be in addition to anything like Wordfence, and are added via the .htaccess file at root level on your installation. Most LLM/AI can help you with this, just bare in mind that it may interfere with some wordpress plugins, so be up front with it when you ask it for the new file
