WordPress tutorial
WordPress is the world's most widely used platform for creating websites. Originally developed for bloggers, WordPress can now be used to develop any type of site. Here's a step-by-step CMS tutorial on the essentials for creating a site with WordPress.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is an Open Source CMS. In concrete terms, it's a free platform whose code is free to modify as you wish, and which enables you to publish content (pages, articles, images, forms, etc.) on the Internet.
WordPress works on two levels:
- a set of files that you host on your server
- your SQL database, also hosted on a server.
The database contains all the text, users, comments, taxonomy (categories and tags), etc., while the file server will contain the PHP, CSS, HTML files, images, documents and so on.
If the WordPress project seems too complex for you, you should know that there are free or inexpensive alternatives to wordpress for building a site from A to Z without going through technical configurations and without computer knowledge.
Download WordPress
To install WordPress, you need the latest version of the CMS. This is a .zip file to be unzipped on your computer. It contains all the files you need to run your future site. Be careful not to delete any of them. We advise you to always keep a blank version of WordPress on hand to repair a file if necessary.
Installing Wordpress
There are 3 prerequisites for installing WordPress: you need a domain name for your site (e.g. www.monsite.com), a file server larger than 100MB and an SQL database. Keep your login and password for these spaces in a safe place, as you'll need them to install and administer your site. There are 4 steps to installing WordPress:
- Modify the wp-config.php file
- Add the WordPress theme to the wp-content > themes folder
- Upload files to server
- Create an administrator account
For multilingual WordPress sites, an additional step is required: you must activate a site network as soon as you install WordPress. To activate the site network, add an extra line to wp-config.php, then create the network structure (subdomains or subdirectories) directly in WordPress.
Choosing and installing a WordPress theme
You'll find a plethora of free and paid themes on Google by searching for "premium wordpress theme" or "free wordpress theme". Be aware that free themes can suffer from serious security flaws. Spend a little time finding the right one, and read user reviews. A theme can do much more than add an aesthetic layer to your site: it can also enrich WordPress with new features. So if you can't find the functionality you need in WordPress, you can look for a theme adapted to your needs, or install extensions.
Extensions and Plugins
In reality, a Plugin is an extension, but both terms are used. As WordPress is used massively around the world, there's a wordpress plugin for just about everything. They work like an app on your phone: you download it, install it, then activate it. WordPress extensions extend the functional coverage of the CMS:
- Increased security
- Add a contact form
- Add sitemaps
- Add buttons for sharing articles on social networks (Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin).
- SEO (Search Engine Optimization) functions
- etc.
Switching your WordPress site from HTTP to HTTPS
Sites with addresses starting with https:// are favored by search engines over traditional sites (http://). Secure data exchange between the user and the server is a feature that is increasingly appreciated by users. However, there are a few steps you need to take to create an https wordpress site:
- Purchase and activate an SSL certificate from a registrar (e.g. OVH).
- Change your site's URL in WordPress settings
- Modify the .htaccess file at the root of the server
- Eliminate mixed content from your site
- Notify Google of address change in Google Webmaster Tools
Add a Favicon to your site
A favicon is a small image to be placed at the root of the WordPress site so that it can be displayed by browsers in the tabs and favorites manager. The wordpress favicon is ideally created from a PNG image, which can be converted into a favicon.ico file using a free online service. This file should be placed at the root of your site.
Article translated from French