Day 1: Introduction to the Course

Introduction of Instructor

• Founder of Dynamite Sites Inc., a Toronto-based web design and digital marketing agency
• Background in teaching with 15+ years experience teaching adults at York University, George Brown College and Seneca College
• Read more about me on the About page on Dynamite Sites.

Course Overview

• This is a hands-on course: you will create your own WordPress website without any coding skills!
• IMPORTANT: Learning will take you about 15 minutes a day, but implementing what you learn will obviously take longer. However, by following the structure of the lessons, you’ll very likely to finish up your website in 1-2 months (assuming that it doesn’t take you long to come up with the copy/text, images and other content). There are also lessons towards the end that do not require any action on your part, just for your information.
• Lessons without “Day(s)” in the title are not required to complete your website.
• Each lesson has videos with captions AND text instructions with screenshots, and both explain step by step what you have to do.
• Pay attention to the instructions starting with “IMPORTANT,” just like above because they’ll guide you about what you need or don’t need to do.
• From time to time, I update the lessons or add new ones. Pay attention to sections starting with NOTE or NEW where I add new instructions via text and screenshots.
• Please click the “Complete” button at the bottom of each lesson to keep track of your progress.
• You can purchase your domain and the Deluxe Managed WordPress hosting plan at Dynamite Web Services.

Why WordPress

• There are other Content Management Systems for building websites, like Wix, Shopify, Square and so on.
• But WordPress powers around 43% of the world’s websites, 63% of the CMS market share, according to Colorlib
• Open-source, meaning the source code is available to everyone and anyone can contribute, the actual CMS is free, and you can customize WordPress to the nth degree
• 10s of 1000s of plugins/tools to add additional functionality to your site, allowing you to do just about anything you can think of. It’s pretty much impossible to beat WordPress because you can do just about anything you can imagine.
• Many business owners or nonprofits start off using Wix, Square or other CMSes and then migrate to WordPress. So why not just start with a basic WordPress site to begin with?
• That way, once you’re ready to invest in a highly professional and uniquely branded website with a variety of features to engage and monetize your audience, you’re already using a CMS that can be adapted to any of your future needs.
• The same reason WordPress is so loved, the customization, is the same reason there is a learning curve.
• Read this WP Beginner article to learn about the pros and cons of popular CMSes if you want to learn more.

Domains & Hosting

• A domain is essentially an online address, like your street address for your apartment or house. It’s where your website is located on the web. An example is mybusiness.com, like nike.com or greenpeace.org.
• A website is a set of files that are delivered to visitors online, and those files are stored on hardware called a server. When you purchase a hosting plan, you are renting space on that company’s servers so they can store and deliver those files when a visitor goes to your domain.
• We will build the site with a temporary gibberish domain that’s given to you when you purchase the hosting plan.
• We will connect your new or existing domains to your new WordPress site in the hosting account later.
• If you don’t have a domain, please purchase it through the store. But if you’re not ready to choose a domain yet, don’t worry because you can do it later in the course. 

Existing Domains, Hosting Plans & Websites

• If you have a domain already, find out who you bought it from and make sure you can sign into your domain registrar (GoDaddy, Google, Siteground, Bluehost, etc.)
• If you have an existing or old domain you want to use, it’s possible to associate it with your new hosting account, but it will require more steps later on to properly connect it to your new WordPress site. I can help you with that process, especially if you’re using an existing domain.
• If you have an existing hosting account, you can use it in our class, but make sure your WordPress site is empty as if new.
• If you have an existing WordPress site that uses Elementor, the block editor or even Astra, then this course can help you understand how to edit and maintain it on your own.

Coaching Calls & Email Support

• You should have received the Zoom link to use for all the coaching calls in the email after registering for this course. During the calls, I can help you solve any design problems and further customize your site, like adding online courses, social networking features, e-commerce and so on.
• If you’re not available at the given time, please let me know so we can arrange other times that are more convenient for you.
• Feel free to post comments on any of the lessons, but if you have a question, please email me at ruth@dynamitesites.ca and I’ll do my best to respond to you within 24 hours during the work week from 9 to 5 pm EST or Toronto, Canada time.

Disclaimer: This course contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, I may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!