HOW TO CREATE A WEBSITE ON WORDPRESS USING LOCAL WP – Website ǀ NOKADIGITALS ǀ WEB DESIGN AGENCY IN GHANA

Creating a website on WordPress using Local WP involves several steps. Local WP (formerly known as Local by Flywheel) is a local development tool that allows you to create a WordPress site on your computer before making it live. Here’s a detailed guide on how to do it:

1. Install Local WP

Download Local WP: Go to the Local WP website and download the application for your operating system.
Install: Follow the installation prompts to install Local WP on your computer.

2. Set Up a New WordPress Site

Open Local WP: Launch the Local WP application.
Create a New Site:
Click on “Create a New Site”.
Enter a name for your site (e.g., “MyBlog”).
Choose the preferred setup option, or customize the environment (PHP version, MySQL version, etc.).
Click “Create Site”.

3. Access Your Local WordPress Site

Admin Dashboard: Once the site is created, you can access the WordPress admin dashboard by clicking on “WP Admin”.
Site URL: You can view the front end of your site by clicking on “Open Site”.

4. Choose and Install a Theme

Go to Appearance > Themes: In the WordPress dashboard, navigate to Appearance > Themes.
Add New: Click “Add New” to browse and install a theme suitable for your blog.
Activate: Once installed, click “Activate” to apply the theme to your site.

5. Create Essential Pages

Go to Pages > Add New: Create essential pages like Home, About, Blog, and Contact.
Set a Static Homepage:
Go to Settings > Reading.
Choose “A static page” and select the homepage you created.

6. Customize Your Site

Customize: Go to Appearance > Customize to adjust your site’s appearance, including the logo, colors, fonts, and more.
Menus: Set up your navigation menus under Appearance > Menus.

7. Install Essential Plugins

Go to Plugins > Add New: Install plugins that add functionality to your blog.
SEO: Yoast SEO for optimizing your content.
Contact Forms: Contact Form 7 or WPForms.
Security: Wordfence for security.

8. Write and Publish Blog Posts

Go to Posts > Add New: Start writing your blog posts.
Categories and Tags: Organize your content using categories and tags.
Publish: Once your post is ready, click “Publish”.

9. Preview Your Site

View Your Site: Regularly preview your site to see how it looks to visitors by clicking “Visit Site” at the top left of the dashboard.

10. Migrate to a Live Server (Optional)

Export Your Site: Once you’re satisfied with your local site, you can migrate it to a live server using a plugin like Duplicator or All-in-One WP Migration.