Summary
Highlights
This section introduces the tutorial, highlighting that it's a complete WordPress guide for beginners, focusing on creating a professional website using free tools like Elementor. The only cost will be for top-quality WordPress hosting, starting from $3/month, and promises access to customizable templates. It emphasizes no prior coding knowledge is required.
The video clarifies the crucial difference between WordPress.org (free, open-source, full control) and WordPress.com (paid, limited unless on expensive plans). It strongly recommends WordPress.org. Hosting is explained as renting server space for your website files to be live 24/7, with an overview of the tutorial steps: setting up hosting, choosing a domain name, installing WordPress, installing a theme and plugins, and customizing with Elementor.
The tutorial recommends Hostinger as an affordable and beginner-friendly hosting provider, highlighting a special discount link. It walks through choosing a hosting plan (recommending the Business plan for more storage and CDN), selecting a billing cycle for maximum discounts, and ensuring the special coupon code is applied for an extra 10% discount. It then guides through registering the account and completing payment.
This part details the process of installing WordPress onto the hosting. It covers creating a WordPress login, setting up a blank site, and securing a custom domain name provided free for a year with certain hosting plans. The video explains domain propagation and how to sign into the WordPress dashboard using `domain.com/wp-admin`.
A quick tour of the WordPress dashboard is provided, explaining the toolbar for accessing pages, posts, themes, and plugins. It then guides on installing the free Astra theme, which serves as a foundation for Elementor customization, and activating it.
This section covers installing and activating the Starter Templates plugin. Crucially, it instructs users to select Elementor as the page builder to ensure templates are compatible. Users can then browse and select a free template, customize preliminary options like site logo and colors (which can be changed later), and import the chosen template.
The core of website customization is explained using Elementor. It details Elementor's drag-and-drop interface, consisting of sections, columns, and widgets. The process of editing existing text, images, changing typography, colors, and deleting sections is demonstrated. It also shows how to add new sections from scratch, including images, headings, text editors, and buttons, and how to style elements like button hovers and section backgrounds. The 'structure' box for easier navigation is also introduced.
This part demonstrates how to add new pages, like a privacy policy page, and add content using Elementor. It also shows how to hide the default page title. Subsequently, it explains how to edit the header navigation menu using Astra's customizer settings, including adding pages or custom links, organizing items, creating sub-menus, and changing link colors.
The tutorial concludes by showing how to make the website mobile-responsive using Elementor's responsive mode. It highlights that starter templates are generally well-optimized for mobile, but demonstrates how to make specific adjustments to text sizes or section padding for mobile and tablet views without affecting desktop layout. The importance of publishing changes to save work is reiterated.