Stage 2 of 8 · 7 lessons · ~6 weeks

WordPress: hosting, blocks and themes

Install WordPress on good hosting, learn the block editor and the Site Editor, understand block and classic themes, child themes, plugins and how content is modelled.

Start: Hosting choices and installing WordPress

Lessons· one lesson for each topic, in this order

Do this

Install WordPress locally with LocalWP, then once on a host with a one-click installer.
Build three pages with the block editor, and save one reusable section as a synced pattern.
Change colours and fonts for the whole site in the Site Editor, then find the same settings in theme.json.
Create a child theme of a default theme and activate it.
Pick plugins for a contact form, SEO and backups, and write down why you chose each one.
Model an "Events" content type with the fields it needs.

Start with

CourseFree
Learn WordPress
WordPress.org
Free official courses on the block editor, Site Editor, themes and plugins, with lesson plans and online workshops

Practise

Local
Free desktop app for spinning up local WordPress sites in a minute, so you can break things safely

Keep handy

WordPress Developer Resources
The official theme handbook, including theme.json, templates and child themes

Also worth your time

roadmap.sh: WordPressGo deeper
A map of the wider WordPress skill set to check your coverage against once the basics feel solid

Before moving on: A WordPress site on a local or staging install with a block theme styled through theme.json and the Site Editor, a child theme, no more than five carefully chosen plugins, and at least one custom post type with its own archive.

Tauseef's advice

Learn the block editor properly before reaching for a page builder plugin. Most small business sites need a good block theme, a few patterns and five or six maintained plugins, not twenty. The fewer moving parts you hand over, the fewer 2 am messages you get.