PremiumWow Team has been helping WordPress beginners from last two years. Over these years, we have received tens of thousands of questions. We have noticed that some questions are asked more frequently by users. In this article, we will answer some of the most frequently asked questions by WordPress beginners.

1. How do I start a WordPress blog?

First you need to make sure that you are choosing the right blogging platform for your website. Self-hosted WordPress.org site is the best platform in our opinion. It offers you the flexibility and freedom to grow your blog without any limitations. Next, you will need to sign up for a WordPress hosting account. All websites on the internet needs hosting. This will be your website’s home on the internet. You will also need a domain name. This will be your website’s address on the internet that your users will type in their browsers to reach your site (e.g. premiumwow.com or google.com). We recommend using either Bluehost. They are one of the largest hosting companies in the world and an official WordPress hosting partner. Once you have signed up for a hosting account, you can go ahead and install WordPress. 

2. How much does it cost to build a WordPress website?

While WordPress itself is free, you will need a web hosting account and a domain name to use it on a live website. These will cost you money. You can get started by signing up for a shared hosting account. After that you can use a free WordPress theme with essential free plugins to get started. This would cost you roughly around $100/year. As your website grows, you will need more features, tools, and services to better serve your users. Some of these services and tools will cost additional money. Your goal will be to keep the costs down while offering the best experience for your users.

3. How do I make money from my WordPress site?

There are countless ways to make money from your WordPress site. In fact, website owners are coming up with new ways to make money online from their websites every day. You can run advertisements, sell products, recommend affiliate products, teach courses, sell paid content, and the list goes on.

4. Can I use WordPress without using any blog features?

Yes, absolutely. Many WordPress websites are business sites that don’t use any blog related features at all. WordPress started out as a blogging platform, but now it is a full-fledged CMS and an application framework. You can create a website using only the pages.

5. How do I install plugins in WordPress?

Plugins are like apps for your WordPress site. They allow you to add additional features like contact forms, photo galleries, etc to your website. To install plugins, first you need to visit Plugins » Add New page in the WordPress admin area. Next, you need to search for the plugin you are looking for by typing in keywords (like photo gallery, contact form, etc). If you know the name of the plugin that you want to install, then you can just enter the name of the plugin. In the search results, click on the install button next to the plugin that you want to install and WordPress will install it for you. Next, you will need to click on the activate button to start using the plugin. You can also install plugins sold by third party developers. Those plugins come as a zip file. Simply head over to Plugins » Add New page and then click on the upload button. Next, you need to click on the choose file button to select the plugin zip file from your computer and then click on ‘Install now’.

6. Which WordPress plugins I should install on my website?

At the time of writing this article, there were more than 49,000 plugins available in the free WordPress plugins directory alone. Not all of them are great, which leads to the question that which WordPress plugins should you install on your website? We have compiled a list of essential WordPress plugins that you should install on your website. For more plugin recommendations, you can check out our WordPress plugins article.

7. How do I use categories and tags in WordPress?

Categories and tags allow you to sort your content into topics. This makes it easier for you to organize content and for your users to find it. Categories are for broader topics. You can think of them as different cabinets in a file room. They can also have sub-categories. For example, on a news website you can have categories for national news, international news, entertainment, and op-eds. On the other hand, tags are used for more specific topics discussed in an article. Think of them as an index of words that describe an article.

8. How to find free images for my WordPress site?

Images make your website look more interesting. They are the easiest way to build user engagement and increase the time users spend on your website. However, not all website owners are photographers or graphic designers. You can’t just download and add any image to your website. Those images are probably copyrighted and can cause you trouble in the future.Luckily, there are thousands of artists and photographers who put their work under free domain so that other people can use it.

9. How to protect my WordPress site from hackers

WordPress powers nearly 28% of all websites on the internet. This makes it a special target for hackers, spammers, and malicious activities. You can easily protect your site from hackers and malicious attacks by adding layers of security around your WordPress site. Follow the instructions in our step by step ultimate WordPress security guide to protect your website against hackers, malware, and phishing attempts.WordPress powers nearly 28% of all websites on the internet. This makes it a special target for hackers, spammers, and malicious activities. You can easily protect your site from hackers and malicious attacks by adding layers of security around your WordPress site. Follow the instructions in our step by step ultimate WordPress security guide to protect your website against hackers, malware, and phishing attempts.

10. How to install Google Analytics in WordPress?

Google Analytics is free website analytics tool. It tells you what pages users are seeing on your website, where they came from, and what they did on your website. This is just some of the basic information that you get. Google  Analytics actually provides a treasure of data that helps you understand what’s working on your website and what’s not. You can then plan your strategy accordingly and improve your website.

We hope this article answered some of the most frequently asked questions by WordPress beginners. You may also want to see these actionable tips to drive traffic to your WordPress blog. If you liked this article, then please subscribe for more WordPress tutorials and tips. You can also find us on Instagram and Facebook.