As always, here’s the video guide: If you like the video and want more tutorials on creating a professional website you can also subscribe to our YouTube channel! Now to the post… Alright yall, let’s talk about the internet. Literally everone is on the internet. All of the time. It doesn’t matter whether we’re looking to buy things, learn a new skill, watching TV, making new friends – we do just about everything but eat and sleep on the internet (though we know a couple of foodies and biohackers who try to do that too). Nowadays, having an online presence is basically a must if you want to achieve your hopes and dreams (unless you’re aspiring to be a monk or pro “sanitation engineer” – if so good for you!). If you’re reading this you almost certainly think that starts and ends with building a YouTube channel or solid Insta account. Don’t get us wrong, those are great ideas. But unfortunately, social media has become so noisy that it’s becoming harder and harder to actually stand out and make an impact if those are the only angles you’re working in the online presence game. So how do we get around that to step out of the noise and make an impact beyond the 1 billion Instagram or 1.8 billion YouTube users (hard to imagine at the moment, we know, but it’s totally doable!)? Easy: Create a website. Not for you you say? Sure it is! And here’s 10 reasons why.
As always, here’s the Wix tutorial video: Alright guys so in this post we’ve got a tutorial on how to use wix to make a website. We’ll show you how to change fonts and colors, make sections and buttons, add videos, setup your header menu and footer, make a contact form so visitors can email you… While we\'re definitely NOT going over absolutely every detail you\'ll find in the Wix documentation, here we have basically everything you need to know about how to make a wix website! We’ve got a ton of ground to cover so in the words of everyone’s favorite news Youtuber, let’s just jump into it! Note: in case it wasn\'t obvious, you\'ll need to get started with your *FREE* Wix account to follow along with this tutorial. How to Use Wix Tutorial: Complete! So that is how to create a Wix website that looks awesome and can be a great start for your business. If you found this Wix tutorial helpful be sure to check out our other written guides like the one on Best Website Builders, filled with all sorts of helpful website tips and tricks to help you launch your website!
As always, here’s the video guide: Now to the post (including a couple of never-before-seen bonus rounds!!)… What’s going on guys, in today’s post we’re covering a heated battle between two of the best website builders out there. It’s the Wix vs WordPress battle royale! Which is easier to use? Which is cheaper? Which is better for blogging and SEO? Which is better overall? In today’s match (we know, it’s just a blog post, roll with us here) we’ll find out. What is WordPress? WordPress (.org, not .com) is also an all-in-one package for building websites, but you’ve got to grab the hosting and domain name yourself. Think of it like this: Wix is kind of like buying a whole laptop, the actual machine and the MacOS (or Windows) that runs all the software. WordPress is like buying just the MacOS/Windows – you’ve got to get the laptop to install it on yourself. If that doesn’t quite make sense, there’s also the house/address/land metaphor we used in our what is a domain name post. Basically, you can get WordPress for free, but you’ll need someplace to install it so that people access to your WordPress website from the web – so you’ll need WordPress hosting (our favorite cheap but good option is HostGator). And you’ll need a domain name for people to type in and link to so people can find/get to your site. Hosting starts around $5/month and domain names start around $10/year if you don’t get any special discounts. Depending on the host you choose, you might have to install WordPress yourself (most hosts have a 1-click option, some don’t) and your host may or may not make it easy to buy a domain name when you sign up for hosting. Once you’ve got WordPress installed, you’ll then […]
As always, here’s the video guide: Setting up WordPress backups for your site is one of the easiest and most crucial ways to up your website security game. No matter how much you lock your sh*t down, accidents and hacks happen. And when they do, knowing you’re covered with a recent backup (or two) of your site is like Bengay for the stress you’ll feel. Downtime isn’t cool, but losing all your work is waay less cool. So today we’ll cover everything you need to know about WordPress backups – from why it’s important, to how often you should do it, your backup options, some of our favorite WordPress backup plugins and a quick tutorial. Let’s get into it! Why Should I Backup WordPress? Just in case you’re a bit confused about all this backup business, we want to make sure you’re crystal clear: backing up your site is real important. Don’t wait until after your site is broken/hacked to start making them. Simply put, backups are copies of your WordPress site that are easy to reinstall (“restore” in technical terms) if something goes wrong. They’re an insurance policy that’s super cheap (read on – we’ll show you how to set them up in a couple of minutes). One of those things that you probably won’t need but when you do you’ll really need them. WordPress backups have two parts: Your media, theme, plugin, etc files The database that stores your blog posts, comments, and settings By default, WordPress doesn’t have a built-in backup system, so you’ll have to take some steps to set this up yourself. To do this, you’ve got three options: Rely on your web host to back it all up for you. Make backups manually by downloading your files and database (don’t do this – you’ll […]
WordPress is the world’s most popular content management system (CMS) and for good reason: the software is flexible, easy to learn, and free to use. With a huge library of free and premium themes and plugins, WordPress powers millions of websites around the world; if you’ve been thinking about creating your first professional website, it’s a solid place to start! But while WordPress itself is free to use, you’ll need some place to house all your images, blog posts, and data to make it easy to reach over the internet. That’s where WordPress hosting comes in. In case you missed our What is Web Hosting guide, hosting is basically a service that provides servers or “land” on which your website or “house” is built on the internet. But a quick Google search will show you there are a ton of WordPress hosting sites out there. Which is great, we love options. Until it’s time to make a decision about which offers the best WordPress hosting for you! Figuring that out is exactly what this beginner’s guide is for. What is WordPress Hosting? While web hosting can be used to build websites using a ton of different web technologies and platforms, the popularity of WordPress has inspired a lot of providers to offer WordPress specific features and services. But when it comes to WordPress web hosting, there are basically two options: Managed and Unmanaged. Managed WordPress Hosting Managed WordPress web hosting is built specifically for websites created with the CMS. It’s optimized for speed and ease of use. With managed hosting, WordPress comes pre-installed so you don’t have to mess with installation, and most web hosts will offer other site-friendly features like automatic backups, caching, and updates. And when you need help, managed hosting plans will have customer support teams that are super-knowledgeable […]
Choosing a theme for your WordPress site can be a bit like choosing a dog – there are a ton of breeds to choose from, a ton of price points, and making the wrong choice can leave you stuck with a lot of chewed up furniture and poop to clean up. Jk, we love dogs and really, your WordPress theme is waaay less important than picking a pup. But, when you’re just getting your WordPress site started, choosing a theme can feel damn important and damn confusing. On top of everything else you’ve got to do to get your business going, the onslaught of colors, fonts, sections, headers, widgets, menus, buttons, customizations – well, it can all feel like too much. Lucky for you as always, we’ve got your back! You don’t need to spend a ton of time or a ton of money finding the perfect WordPress theme to keep you fired up about your business (and, eventually, getting your readers fired up too). Just take a couple of minutes to read through our post and we’ll keep you moving! Without further adieu, we present you the top 5 best free WordPress themes of the year (all beginner friendly). Check out our video for a quick overview, then read on if you want to learn more: What is a WordPress Theme? According to the official WordPress site, themes are “a collection of files that work together to produce a graphical interface with an underlying unifying design for a weblog.” Lol “weblog.” Put way more simply, WordPress themes are a way to change the look of your site – from the colors and fonts to the kinds of sections you and buttons you can add. Basically: themes let you change the way the words and images appear on your site […]
Okay, so you’ve got your online business idea figured out. After hours of word-crunching, you’ve got a pretty rad name, you’ve bought the domain name and maybe you’ve even started to build your WordPress website. But in the back of your mind, that little spot in the top left corner of the page bugs you; there’s supposed to be a logo there. How the heck do I make a logo? Oh and since you’re just starting the process of building your business, you definitely don’t have the resources to hire a designer to make one for you. No worries friends, we’ve got your back. In this guide, we’ll show you exactly how to whip up a logo for your online business. For free. In 5 minutes. Because you’ve got a lot of great ideas to get out there and one heck of a business to build! Let\'s begin… A logo works a lot like your name (your personal name, not your business’). When you were born your parents gave you a name and over time, you brought a ton of personality to that noise people make with their mouths to identify you. So when people hear your name, they think of you with a few heart eyes emojis. Logos work in the same vein as a symbolic representation of your business, giving people something they can easily recognize and come to feel something (hopefully good) about your business. And more than most people names (sorry “John”), they can also share information about what your business is all about and how you rock the world. A good logo: Helps you stand out from the competition. Shares key information about your business. And builds brand recognition for your business. To do that can take a lot of work. And you already have a […]
Is 2020 the year you finally create your online business? It could be! If you’re like most of the entrepreneurs/future entrepreneurs we know, you’ve gone over tons of online business ideas, imagining what your life would be like if you quit your job and could make money anywhere in the world. But as awesome as that sounds (and is!), time and time again you return to your comfort zone – steady income from a secure job, the consistent schedule, the ease of having a boss who tells you what to do. “I’ll try doing the online business thing next year,” you say to yourself. Then next year never really comes. It’s time to end the cycle of procrastinating on creating an amazing life of freedom and fulfillment by building an online business! To help you finally get going, we’re laying out 10 online business ideas you can get started on ASAP. What We Mean by “Online Business Ideas for Beginners\” If you’ve been interested in creating an online business, you’ve probably come across a few “beginner” posts like this one. In researching this article, we found a lot of websites with ‘easy online business ideas for beginners you can start today right now and make tons of money tomorrow” posts. At Create a Pro Website we’re all about helping out beginners like you with everything you need to create and build a successful online business. However, we’re not about selling you false ideas about how easy it is to be successful online. You can be successful, but it will take time and hard work. That being said, in our list of online business ideas, instead of throwing out every option under the sun, we focused on those that are reasonably easy to start; depending on which you choose some will […]
So you want to make your email address look professional right? But you also want to use your Gmail account because boy those people at Google make things stupidly simple to use… If that\'s the case – you\'re in the right spot! I\'m going to show you exactly how to get a professional email address for your website and set up a Gmail custom domain for free! As always, we have a video guide for this making a professional email address available on our YouTube Channel and below: Custom email addresses help you build and promote your brand (people see your website/business name in your emails, not “Gmail” – and they definitely don’t need the extra promotion). This way, instead of sending email from “[yourname plus some random numbers]@gmail.com” you’ll be able to send and receive emails from “[yourname]@[yourwebsite.com].” And with this here how to create custom email address free guide, you can still use your free Gmail account. And while a lot of posts and videos out there will tell you to pay for Google G Suite or use other tools like Mailgun – we’re going to show you a super simple way to use a free custom email address with Gmail! Why Use a Custom Domain for My Email Address? A custom domain email address is one of the more important parts of building a brand for your pro website. We’ve seen plenty of bloggers and new businesses using generic Gmail addresses and that’s easy enough to understand – Gmail is free, easy to use, and everyone already has one. But if you’re in the process of creating your pro website, it’s really easy to get a professional email address using your website’s domain name from your web hosting provider at no extra cost to you. Why use […]
If you\'ve looked into website platforms at all, you\'ll know that there are several you can start a website with and WordPress is at the top of most lists. Today, we\'re going to cover what is WordPress and how it works. As always, we have a video guide for this available on our YouTube Channel and below: What is WordPress? At its core, WordPress is open source software you can use to build your website or blog and publish it on the internet. It’s a particular kind of software called a Content Management System (CMS), which is basically a tool that makes it easy to manage important parts of your website – like content, colors, and contact forms – without needing to know any programming. Created all the way back in 2003 as a collaboration between Matt Mullenweg and Mike Little, over the years it’s gained a huge following and now has an amazing community behind it. That community of software engineers and designers from around the world contributes not only to the core WordPress code, but they also help the platform by making plugins that let you extend the functionality of your website and themes that let you quickly and easily change its look and feel. With the help and support of all those people, WordPress has become one of the most popular website publishing programs in the world – 30% of the internet is powered by WordPress; that’s a lot of freakin’ websites! Best of all, it’s completely FREE to use! For all these reasons and more (see below), WordPress is a fantastic platform for beginners looking to build their first website – or experts building their 100th. How does WordPress work? Since the earliest days of the internet, websites have been built using programming languages like HTML, PHP, and […]
