Tag Archives: basics

The post How to Learn WordPress [14 Online Courses, Blogs, and Video Tutorials] appeared first on HostGator Blog . When you’re starting a new website, one of the first decisions you have to make is how you’re going to build and manage it. For anyone with limited technical expertise, creating your website with the most popular content management system (CMS) in the world, WordPress, offers a lot of benefits. WordPress provides an intuitive interface that saves you from having to use coding languages like HTML to make changes to your site. Because of its popularity— WordPress has over half of the CMS market share—you can find many resources to help you learn it and use it to its utmost potential. And with an extensive library of themes and popular plugins , many either affordable or entirely free, you can easily add functionality and design elements to your website. Even though WordPress is easier to use than a lot of other website options, you won’t know how to do everything from day one. It’s still worth taking some time to learn the ropes so you can get the most from it.  Luckily, there are a wealth of online resources—many of them free—to help you get up to speed on using WordPress.  Best Online Courses to Learn WordPress Online courses are one of the best ways to gain a lot of knowledge quickly. Whether you’re just starting out and want to get a thorough introduction to the basics of WordPress, or are hoping to level up and gain some more advanced knowledge, an online course can be a good way to learn WordPress skills.  1.  Udemy Udemy has one of the biggest repositories of online courses on the web, including 10,000 courses focused on WordPress. That includes courses for beginners, as well as ones that focus on more advanced WordPress skills like theme development and security.  With so many courses to choose from, almost anything you want to learn should be covered. And you can narrow down your options based on the ratings of past students, to make sure any course you choose has a solid reputation.  2. Skillshare Skillshare is another popular platform for online courses in a variety of topics. They offer a number of WordPress courses of varying lengths. Some of the most popular are general courses for beginners, but you’ll also find a range of more specific topics covered like WordPress SEO and using WooCommerce to build an online store. 3. WP Apprentice WP Apprentice offers a few WordPress courses, including a free one that covers the basics of getting started. The paid courses are more comprehensive and range in price from $39 to $75. They cover learning the essentials of using WordPress, understanding the Gutenberg editor, setting up a business website with WordPress, and learning WordPress SEO.  4. Joy of WP Joy of WP provides two free WordPress courses to help new users get started. WP A to Z covers all the most important basics, including links, themes, and plugins. How to WordPress helps with learning Gutenberg and how to do a number of important tasks in WordPress.  5. WPShout WPShout offers several free WordPress courses for developers. They have a basic starter course for new developers, then more advanced courses that get into topics like theme development, the WordPress hooks system, and using WP_Query.  Top WordPress Blogs to Check Out Courses can provide a thorough helping of information in one place, but for ongoing information that covers a wide range of related topics, WordPress blogs can be a valuable source. There are a lot of blogs out there that focus on using WordPress. These are some of the top ones to follow.  6. HostGator WordPress Blog While we may be biased, we’d be remiss if we didn’t call out the many helpful WordPress resources we make available here. There are two main places you’ll find these: On the HostGator blog , which includes dozens of articles with tips for using WordPress for different types of websites, and that cover useful topics like themes, plugins, and WordPress security.  On the HostGator support panel , which offers articles for customers of HostGator’s WordPress hosting on how to use the CMS with your HostGator account. In both places, you’ll find suggestions and instructions in clear language that beginners can follow just as easily as experts. 7. WPBeginner With over a million readers, the WPBeginner blog is one of the web’s go-to resources for all things WordPress. That includes highlighting featured deals and plugins, providing WordPress tutorials, and covering examples of websites that use WordPress effectively.  8. Smashing Magazine As the premier design publication on the web, Smashing Magazine covers a lot more than just WordPress. But their WordPress section is extensive and packed with useful information. You can find helpful articles that cover basic topics like how to create a WordPress site, as well as many articles that get much more specific and advanced in the WordPress tips they provide.  9. WPTavern WPTavern is a blog focused on all things WordPress. They cover WordPress updates and news, including the launch of new plugins and themes. It’s a useful blog for staying up to date on what’s happening in the world of WordPress. Best Sources for WordPress Videos Blogs can cover a lot of important information, but for visual learners, they won’t work as well as watching the same topics covered in videos. A number of websites specialize in videos you can use to learn WordPress.  10. LinkedIn Learning LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda.com) has over 1,000 video tutorials about how to use WordPress. They range in skill level from beginner to advanced, and cover an array of topics including plugins, using WordPress for ecommerce, and making a website that’s accessible in WordPress.  The platform allows one month of free access, so it’s a good place to start your learning if you want to soak up a lot of knowledge quickly. After that, all their courses and videos are available for a fee starting at $24.99 a month.  11. WordPress.tv WordPress.tv collects videos about WordPress submitted by members of the community. It includes videos from key WordPress events, particularly the WordCamps hosted around the world. Some of the videos feature insights from important WordPress influencers. And notably, the site includes videos in multiple languages to help out a global audience.  12. WPTuts The WPTuts YouTube channel updates with new videos every week that provide tips and tutorials on using different aspects of WordPress. That includes useful WordPress tools like WooCommerce, Elementor, and the Brizy Visual Page builder. You can start with their Tutorials for Beginners section, then search through the extensive video library to answer just about any question you have.  Even More Resources for Learning WordPress While all the videos, courses, and blogs will give you plenty to work with, there are a few other types of resources it’s worth adding to your list. 13. WordPress Codex The WordPress Codex is the online manual for WordPress. It’s full of important technical information about how to use WordPress. There are specific sections on plugins, themes, and permalinks. For many of your starter questions, it makes sense to look first on the WordPress website itself.  14. Tao of WordPress The Tao of WordPress is a book that covers all the basics of creating and maintaining a website on WordPress. It has the depth of a thorough course, but collects it in book form for those that prefer to learn through reading.  Get Started With WordPress Once you decide to build your website with WordPress, the next question you have to answer is where you’ll host your website. HostGator offers managed WordPress hosting —a plan designed with WordPress compatibility top of mind.  With our WordPress plan, you can count on helpful resources on how to use WordPress and connect it with your hosting account. And you’ll get the quality of service that HostGator offers to customers of all plans—including 24/7 customer support, a promise of 99.99% uptime, and one of the best reputations in the industry. Choosing WordPress is a big step toward building a website that’s easy to create, maintain, and customize to your heart’s content. Choosing HostGator is the next step to getting your website published on the web where the world can see it.  Find the post on the HostGator Blog Continue reading →