Hi, I’m Yoda, your guide to building a fully functional, professional WordPress website at no cost (beyond hosting and domain fees). With over 20 years as a Webmaster instructor, I’ll walk you through creating a mobile-friendly, easy-to-update site in under two hours. Plus, I’ll share four key mistakes that hurt search engine rankings—and how to fix them for free. Let’s dive in!
The current date is March 14, 2025, and this tutorial uses the latest web design techniques for a responsive site that works on any device.
Why I Created This Tutorial
My wife, Bethany, a travel enthusiast, built a WordPress site (yourultimatevacation.com) to share her adventures and tips. Inspired by her success at Couples Tower Isle Resort in Ocho Rios, Jamaica, we teamed up to create this beginner-friendly guide. Whether you’re a newbie or just want a cost-effective site, this tutorial is for you.
What You’ll Need
- Web Hosting: About $10/month (I recommend HostGator).
- Domain Name: Around $12/year.
- Time: Less than 2 hours.
- No Coding Skills: The tools do the heavy lifting!
Beyond hosting and domain costs, everything else—software, themes, plugins—is free.
Step 1: Get Hosting and a Domain with HostGator
Your website needs a home (hosting) and an address (domain). Here’s why I choose HostGator:
- Reliability: Top-rated by PC Magazine for years.
- Support: 24/7 chat assistance.
- Affordable: Starts at $2.50/month with my Web Yoda discount.
How to Set It Up
- Go to hostgator.com/web-yoda for up to 75% off and a free domain.
- Choose the Hatchling Plan (1 site, $2.50/month, 12-month billing).
- Pick a domain (e.g., howtoinstallwordpress.com)—ensure it’s available and relevant.
- Skip add-ons like domain privacy or extra services (you don’t need them yet).
- Complete checkout with your billing info.
Once purchased, your hosting is active instantly, and WordPress comes pre-installed.
Step 2: Access and Configure WordPress
Log In
- Go to yourdomain.com/wp-admin.
- Use the temporary credentials from HostGator, then create your own:
- Users > Add New: Set username (e.g., yodauser), email, and password. Assign “Administrator” role.
Set Up Basics
- Settings > General:
- Site Title: e.g., “How to Install WordPress”.
- Tagline: e.g., “Your Ultimate Guide”.
- WordPress Address & Site Address: https://yourdomain.com (add https for security).
- Email: Your personal email.
- Save changes and log in with your new credentials.
Step 3: Install Essential Tools
Theme: OceanWP
- Appearance > Themes > Add New > Upload Theme.
- Download oceanwp.zip from webyoda.com/themes (under “Your Ultimate Vacation”).
- Upload, install, and activate.
Plugins
- Plugins > Add New > Upload Plugin.
- Download from webyoda.com/plugins (Your Ultimate Vacation section):
- Elementor: Page builder.
- Contact Form 7: Forms.
- CF7 Elementor: Integrates forms with Elementor.
- OceanWP Extra: Theme enhancements.
- Duplicate Page: Easy page copying.
- Classic Editor & Classic Widgets: Ensures compatibility.
- Upload, install, and activate each.
- Delete default plugins: Select all, deactivate, then delete.
Step 4: Build Your Website
We’ll recreate Bethany’s site as an example. Download sample content from webyoda.com/content to follow along.
Homepage
- Pages > Add New: Title it “Home”, set as homepage (Settings > Reading).
- Edit with Elementor:
- Add a section (1 column), set a background image (e.g., from Bethany’s folder).
- Drag in Heading and Text Editor widgets, style with fonts (e.g., Permanent Marker), colors (e.g., white), and sizes (e.g., 70px).
- Add animation (Advanced > Entrance Animation > Zoom In).
- Sections:
- Use Image, Text, and Button widgets for content blocks.
- Add Shape Dividers (Style > Shape Divider > Waves Brush) for transitions.
- Insert a Carousel template (My Templates) for testimonials.
About Us Page
- Reuse the header from a template.
- Add 2-column sections with text and images, styled with Bethany’s colors (e.g., green).
Destinations (e.g., Jamaica)
- Full-width section with a fixed background image.
- Add Heading widgets (e.g., “Destination Jamaica”) with shadows and fonts (e.g., Vegaw).
- Use Progress Bars and Buttons linking to page sections (Menu Anchor widget).
Gallery
- Insert an Image Gallery widget, upload photos, set columns (3), and size (300×300).
- Add a green background and waves divider.
Travel Tips
- Use Accordion widgets for collapsible tips, styled with white text on a black background.
Contact Us
- Two-column layout with headers (e.g., “Phone & Email”) and Icon Lists.
- Add a Contact Form 7 widget (pre-configured form) and a Google Maps widget.
Step 5: Make It Responsive
- In Elementor, toggle device previews (bottom icon).
- Adjust padding/margins (e.g., 20px left/right on mobile) or hide elements (Advanced > Responsive > Hide on Mobile).
Step 6: Boost Search Engine Rankings (The 4 Big Fixes)
- Enable Indexing:
- Settings > Reading: Uncheck “Discourage search engines from indexing this site”.
- Install Yoast SEO:
- Plugins > Add New: Search “Yoast SEO”, install, and activate.
- Secure Your Site:
- Use HostGator’s free SSL (https). Check my video at webyoda.com/support for setup.
- Get Backlinks:
- Encourage links from other sites. Visit jose1.com (use promo code “webyoda” for 50% off their backlink services).
Final Touches
- Preview: Visit yourdomain.com to see your live site.
- Support: Comment below or visit webyoda.com/support if you hit snags.
Wrap-Up
Congratulations! You’ve built a professional WordPress site for free (minus hosting/domain). Like, share, and subscribe to spread the word. I’m Yoda—peace out, and happy designing!
(Pro Tip: Slow me down on YouTube at 75% playback speed if I’m too fast!)
