Have you ever thought about starting your own website or blog, but didn’t know where to begin? I’ve helped quite a few friends get started—like www.travelwithbasker.wordpress.com—and it’s actually easier than it sounds.
Here’s my simple five-step guide to creating a free WordPress site from scratch.
Step 1: Pick a Name and Sign Up
Start at wordpress.com and click Get Started.
You’ll be asked to choose a site name (your domain). If you’re going with the free version, it will look like:
yourname.wordpress.com
No need to pay unless you want to later.
Tip: when you’re setting it up, it’s handy to make a new Gmail address to match (e.g. travelwithbasker@gmail.com), though I haven’t always done that myself.
Keep the website status as “Coming soon” until you are ready to go live.
Step 2: Write Your First Post
Go to Posts > Add New and write a quick intro. It can be as simple as:
Hi, I’ve started this blog to share my [recipes/travel/photos]. Hope you enjoy it—follow along if you’d like!
You can always go back and edit later. No pressure to be fancy!
Step 3: Add Pages and Set Up a Menu
I recommend adding these basic pages:
- Home
- About
- Contact
Go to Appearance > Editor (or Menus, depending on your theme) and add these pages to your top navigation menu so visitors can easily explore your site.
By default, WordPress shows your latest blog posts on the homepage. But if you want a fixed, static homepage—something more like a traditional website front page—you’ll need to change this setting:
- Go to Settings > Reading in your WordPress dashboard.
- Under “Your homepage displays,” select A static page.
- Choose the page you want as your Homepage (e.g., a custom Home page you created).
- For the Blog Posts page, select a page you’ve created to display your blog posts.
Important: Why You Need a Separate Blog Page
When you switch to a static homepage, WordPress no longer shows your posts on the front page. Instead, your posts will appear on the Blog Posts page you assigned.
Many themes automatically create a default blog page or a posts archive page for you, but sometimes this page has limited editing options in the WordPress editor or block editor. That’s because WordPress treats this blog page differently—it’s essentially an archive page that dynamically displays your latest posts.
If your theme limits editing on the blog page, you won’t be able to customize it like a regular page. However, you can often adjust its layout or style through theme settings or with custom templates if you’re comfortable with code.
This setup keeps your homepage clean and focused while still having a dedicated place for your blog posts.
Step 4: Choose a Theme You Like
WordPress starts you off with a design (called a theme), but you can change it. Go to Appearance > Themes, browse the free ones, and activate the one you like best.
Most are very customisable — just pick one that suits your content and style. I like the scrapbook-style layout, which works well for my travel posts, so I’ve used the Scratchpad theme — and it’s free! I think my blog page looks nice with all the little pencils, paperclips, and assorted bits — it gives it a fun, casual feel.
Step 5: Add a Follow Button
If you want people to get updates when you post, you’ll need a Subscribe block.
You can add this to a page, or pop it into your footer or sidebar. To do this, go to Customize > Widgets > Sidebar, click the + sign, search for “Subscribe,” click on it and save your changes. Then just send your blog link around and ask friends or family to click “Subscribe”
I also like to add a quick Follow button at the top of the sidebar. To do this, go to Customize > Widgets > Sidebar, click the + sign, search for “Follow Button,” click on it and save your changes.
💡 What’s the difference?
The Subscribe block lets people sign up with their email, so they get your new posts by email.
The Follow button connects with the WordPress Reader — it’s handy for people who already use WordPress.com, so your posts pop up in their feed.
Either way, it makes it easy for people to keep up with your blog.
That’s it!
Your site is now ready to go live. You can now change the status to “Public“. You can always come back to tweak things or add more features as you go. There’s no rush and no pressure.
Want to take it further? In the next post, I’ll share some tips for upgrading later, setting up a one-page blog, and making use of WordPress tools without spending a cent (unless you want to).
Coming next:
Going Further with WordPress: Upgrades, One-Page Blogs & My Tips – ♡ Janet.
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