The Beginner’s Handbook

If you’re new to WordPress, or simply looking to further your knowledge, you’re in the right place! With over 10 years in the WordPress field, WP Mayor is considered by many to be a trusted resource.

We’re dedicated to helping you create amazing websites, grow your online blog or business, and continuously increase your knowledge of WordPress.

Welcome to WP Mayor!

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If you’re interested in launching a website, you’ve probably heard about this “WordPress” thing. That’s because self-hosted WordPress now powers over 39% of the known web, making it by far the most popular tool to build a website.

But despite that popularity, many beginners still find it difficult to get started with self-hosted WordPress.

Below you will find some information about each aspect of how to create your first WordPress site. We have also put together a complete tutorial that you can follow on the link below.

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Want to learn more? Keep your finger on the pulse with our organized collection of articles.

WP Mayor-recommended

Here’s a list of products and services that we use regularly on our own sites.

Hosting

Not sure where to start? Check out our Hosting reviews.

Shared WordPress Hosting

If you’re just starting out with self-hosted WordPress, you’re going to be looking for cheap and reliable hosting providers. Before you spend countless hours reading review upon review of the thousands of hosting providers out there, let us save you some time and give you two solid options to choose from.

BlueHost – You’ll find BlueHost recommended by many other top bloggers, and for a good reason. BlueHost offers unlimited hosting for just $4.95 per month and they have a very good track record when it comes to support and uptime.

Managed WordPress Hosting

If you’re ready to take the next step in hosting and go for something more robust, managed WordPress hosting is what you are looking for.

We use and recommend the following managed WordPress hosting providers:

WP Engine – This is where WP Mayor is hosted, you can read all about our decision to move from shared hosting to WP Engine. In a nutshell, WP Engine is a great hosting provider if your website has a lot of traffic.

Kinsta – Try a web hosting speed test to check how your current host performs, and if you’re not happy with the results consider switching to one of the hosts mentioned above.

Virtual Private Hosting (VPS)

For VPS hosting my number one choice is InMotionHosting, we’ve been using their VPS service for more intensive apps, and we haven’t been let down.

InMotionHosting is a company that consistently receives good reviews.

Themes

Not sure which theme is best for you? Check out our Theme reviews.

StudioPress – StudioPress themes are all built on the excellent Genesis framework, the framework behind some of the top WordPress websites in the world. Nowadays we only build sites based on Genesis; it’s that good. Go with any of the StudioPress and you’re in for a great trip.

Elegant Themes – Elegant Themes is a theme shop which continuously churns out gorgeous looking themes. If you’re looking for a great theme that will make you look professional right off the bat, do take a look at what Elegant Themes have to offer.

ThemeForest – (Include QodeInteractive and JupiterX).

ElmaStudio – A theme shop selling very clean themes of a minimal flavor. Expect beautiful type and lots of white space for a calming effect on your visitors. I love this theme shop because they keep things simple and stick to their style rather than try to create themes that will be liked by everyone and used for anything.

Tesla Themes – Tesla Themes comes from Moldova and they’re a great bunch of guys, I’ve also interviewed them on my podcast Mastermind.fm. The themes are clean and professional, and cover a variety of categories/niches. People can also opt to buy a membership to gain access to all themes instead of buying a single theme.

Page Builders

Not sure which tool is best for you? Check out our Page Builder reviews.

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Domains

Plugins

Check out our full list of Plugin Reviews.

Best WordPress Agencies

Not sure where to start? Read our roundup.

Security & Hack Removal

The Beginner’s Handbook

From an introduction on how WordPress works to our recommendations on products and services.

Your resource for anything
WordPress-related.

Full disclosure: When clicking on some of the links on this page and purchasing the product or service, we may earn a commission at no additional cost to you. WP Mayor relies on these commissions to continue producing and updating valuable content on a weekly basis.

A decade-long dedication to the WordPress community.

The Beginner’s Handbook

How to Create a WordPress Site

Plugin Reviews

WooCommerce

eLearning

Articles

Hosting

Social Media

Services

Hosting

Not sure where to start? Check out our Hosting reviews.

Themes

Not sure which theme is best for you? Check out our Theme reviews.

Page Builders

Not sure which tool is best for you? Check out our Page Builder reviews.

Domains

Plugins

Check out our full list of Plugin Reviews.

Best WordPress Agencies

Not sure where to start? Read our roundup.

Security & Hack Removal

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