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In this module, we cover the initial account and site creation options, domains, hosting plans, and choosing a theme. We recommend reading through this entire module before taking any action steps to avoid any surprises or confusion.
- Create a WordPress.com account
- Or login to your existing account and add a new site
- Choose a Domain
- Choose a Plan
- Choose a Theme (aka: Pick a Design)
The act of completing these steps isn’t particularly complicated. The decision making process for each of them may be a different matter. Let’s explore these options to remove some of the mystery.
If you have a WordPress site that is currently hosted with another hosting provider (such as GoDaddy, BlueHost, SiteGround, Hostgator, and more), you’re still welcome to work through our learning materials, but it’s important to note that we may demonstrate features that you don’t have access to and our screenshots may not look the same as what you see in your site.
All of the materials in our learning hub are focused on sites that are hosted with us here at WordPress.com. If you’re not familiar with the differences between WordPress.com and self-hosted sites (or WordPress.org) we recommend reviewing our WordPress Introduction resource.
You can also find additional learning opportunities for self-hosted WordPress sites over at: https://learn.wordpress.org/↗︎
If you’d like to migrate your site to use WordPress.com as your host, we’d love to have you join us and you can learn about the different options available to move your site over to WordPress.com in our Import a Website support guide.
If you have an existing WordPress.com site and are using this course to gain a better understanding of how to manage your site, this is a terrific place to start. You can of course skip the account creation section, and possibly the add site section too. But the rest of the materials will be completely relevant for you.
To help personalize your site creation experience, WordPress.com has several possible starting points for creating a new account and site. Ultimately, they all end up in the same place: your WordPress.com dashboard. But they each have a slightly different onboarding flow in terms of the onscreen steps and options.
See our full list of signup options below:
- Get Started↗︎ — the default, generic onboarding flow
- Design your own↗︎ — uses a special assembler wizard, as covered in our Quick Launch course
- Create a Newsletter↗︎ — offers specific steps for creating a newsletter focused website, as covered in our Newsletters 101 course
- Create a Course↗︎ — a tailored flow that starts you out with exactly what you need for creating online courses
- Creator plan trial↗︎ — this signup option is specifically for those who know they want to work with third-party plugins or migrate their site from another hosting provider, but want to test it out before committing
- WooCommerce↗︎ — specifically for those who want to create an online store, also with a free trial
So, how do you choose where to start? First, don’t overthink it. As mentioned, whichever signup method you choose you’ll end up with a site hosted with WordPress.com, you’ll have domain and plan options, you’ll use the same tools for building your website, and you’ll be working from the same dashboard.
But you are in no way limited by any of these signup options. That’s one of the many beautiful benefits of working with WordPress.com. It’s entirely progressive and designed to grow with you, so choosing a specific signup option doesn’t restrict your choices later.
Not sure what you want to build?
Choose the generic Get Started or the Design your own option. You can add a newsletter, online courses, an eCommerce store, plugins, and more, at any point down the road (and we have resources that teach you how).
Design your own is an option you can choose within the Get Started option as well from the Pick a Design page. Using the provided link dedicated to this option just reduces the steps during signup.
Want to fast track the process of setting up the initial site?
We recommend the Design your own signup option and to work through our Quick Launch course. This is especially good for beginners. (Then come back to this course.)
Do you want pre-designed style options?
Browse through some of the available themes first by choosing the Get Started option. We cover more details about themes in the Choose a Theme lesson.
Are you specifically creating a site for online courses?
Then choose the Create a Course signup option as it reduces some of the steps you’ll need to take later and ensures that you’re starting with the right hosting plan and tools. You’ll also want to go through Building Online Courses.
Building an online store?
Start with the WooExpress signup option and watch our WooCommerce 101 webinar.
New to WordPress
If you’re new to the WordPress software, it’s better to start small, learn the lay of the land and what’s possible, then decide what upgrades or additional features you’d like to have. Even the Free plan on WordPress.com is extremely powerful, as you’ll discover in the Choose a Plan lesson.
So while the Creator plan trial may seem like an attractive option, depending on the site you’re building it might include far more advanced features than you need at this time. Downgrading from our business servers is also a more involved process that can result in changes to your site. Whereas upgrading progressively, as needed, is seamless.
Any choice is the right choice
The thing to keep in mind as you work through this course, is that which signup option you choose may impact some of the initial options you see. The course isn’t outdated, you’re not in the wrong place, you haven’t made any mistakes. Just read through the information presented on your screen and make the selections that work best for you.
When you choose one of the tailored signup options, you may also have additional tools and menu items in your dashboard that will be different from what you see in some of our screenshots. That’s okay too.
Signup options such as the Create a Course, Creator plan trial, and WooExpress are connected to the hosting plan(s) required to use specific features. The other flows will present you with an option to choose which hosting plan you want to start with, including a Free plan option. Most of the signup options will present you with an option to choose a domain for your site, but even if this step is skipped you can manage your domain choices later.
This course is focused on creating your base site. The foundational settings, pages, and customizations. All of this information applies regardless of which signup flow you choose and what extra features your site might have.
All signup options result in the creation of a new site, so there are no extra steps needed if you’re using one of these options. If you have an existing account and just want to create a new site to use for learning purposes the easiest way to do that is from the Manage Sites↗︎ screen. On this page there’s a button in the top right corner to add a new site, or you can see other options in the Account / Site Creation section of our Quick Start Guide.
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