WordPress is the most widely known and used CMS (Content Management System). What WordPress actually do is help you build and maintain a website without prior knowledge to any web development programming language. There are many high profile organizations, companies and universities that relies on WordPress as a backbone for their websites (e.g. Mashable, TechCrunch, Spotify).
Learning WordPress can help you in many ways; you can create a personal bog, a website for your small business or even find a well-paid full/part time job. There are many topics in WordPress (using WordPress, designing themes for WordPress, etc.), this post will cover only using WordPress and will present free online sources that beginners can use to start learning WordPress, the post will present the Pros and Cons for each outlet and how it’s compared to the other outlets/sources. At the end of the post there would be a road-map for beginners to learn WordPress.
Hint: Many think that they need a server to run WordPress; well that’s true, but you can still as a beginner experiment with WordPress on your local computer using WampServer that you can download for free. It’s highly recommended for beginners to install WordPress on WampServer and play around with it before paying for hosing and going public.
How to Learn WordPress for Free
WPBeginners
wpbeginners is an online outlet where you can learn WordPress through video tutorials. The video tutorials are well-structured for beginners to learn and follow along. You’ll have to register in order to have access to their free video training.
Structure: The course is divided into 23 lessons; each lesson is a video tutorial that covers a topic in WordPress.
Interface: The interface is very simple you click on the video tutorial at the left side of the page and you’re ready to start
Now, to the pros and cons of the website:
Pros
- Free.
- Very suitable for beginners, it’s highly recommended to start from it as a beginner.
- The tutorials are well-structure.
Cons
- Advanced topics aren’t covered by the video tutorial.
Verdict: It’s highly recommended to start learning WordPress from wpbeginner.
SiteGround
SiteGround are actually a web hosting company, but they’ve a great tutorial for WordPress. What is unique about their tutorials is that it’s available as text as well as video tutorials. To have access to the tutorials you don’t have to register just go to the website click on the tutorial and you’re ready to go. If you want the video tutorials, go to the bottom of the page and you shall find a link to them.
Structure: The tutorial is divided into 9 sections; each section covers certain topics in WordPress
Interface: The interface is very simple, the list of available sections is at the left side of the page, you click on the course and you’re ready to go. If you want the video tutorials, then go to the bottom of the page and you shall find a link to them.
Now, to the pros and cons of the website:
Pros
- Free.
- The tutorial is well-structure and it’s suitable for beginners.
- The tutorial is available as text as well as video.
Cons
- There are no advanced tutorials available.
Verdict: It’s an excellent source for beginners to start learning WordPress. It’s suitable for you if you prefer to watch video tutorials then read about what you’ve just watched.
Udemy
Udemy it’s an online outlet where you can learn WordPress; you can learn literally anything on Udemy for free or for a fee (depending on the course provider). To join Udemy just register using your email. Go to the search bar and type what you want to learn (WordPress in our case); of course you should choose the free courses.
You can choose one of these courses and start it. Each course is divided into lessons (depending on the instructor); I’ve tried the course “Plan, Build and Launch a WordPress Website” and the instructor was good. Of course if you want to proceed with more levels in WordPress for instance you’ll have to pay or just search for another course that’s free, but after all it’ll be inconvenient as there would be no consistency in your learning curve. The following are the pros and cons of Udemy.
Pros
- There is some good material for beginners.
- The free courses are more suitable for someone who wants to get a general idea about WordPress.
Cons
- You’ll have to pay per course to proceed with your learning journey.
- It’s a trial and error process for both the free and paid courses as it depends on the instructor (stars aren’t that convenient as the instructor might be new that’s why he/she has no stars).
Verdict: It’s a trial and error experience; you can learn WordPress for free from the other sources stated in this post.
77WebStudio
77WebStudio is actually a web development studio, it offers one of the best free video tutorials for WordPress, you’ll need to register to have access to the video tutorial. What’s unique about this outlet is that the instructor (Kathrine) provides many tips and tricks (e.g. reliable themes you can use, plugins that you’d need, etc.) that will help beginners who are trying to build their first website while learning WordPress.
Structure: The tutorial is divided into 5 sections plus the installation guide, each section is divided into a group of video tutorials that covers various topics in word press, the course is well-structured for beginners and the instructor makes it easy to follow along.
Interface: After you register and log into the website you shall find the list of available tutorials listed under each others as seen below, just click on the course and you’re ready to go.
Now to the pros and cons of this outlet.
Pros
- Free.
- The tutorial is well-structured for beginners, and the instructor makes it easy to follow along.
- It provides some powerful tips that will definitely help any WordPress beginner.
Cons
- The tutorial is only covers beginners and some intermediate topics but it doesn’t cover any advanced topics, though that might not be a problem for beginners.
Verdict: You’ll definitely need to visit this outlet as a beginner to know about the plugins you’d need, reliable themes you can use, how to backup you site and many other topics that are only covered in this outlet.
Learn WordPress
Learn WordPress is a free outlet where you can learn WordPress; this outlet is different from the above outlet as the tutorial has no videos. You don’t need to register to start the course, just open the website and start the tutorial. You should note that this tutorial is targeting WordPress.com not the fully featured WordPress at WordPress.org.
Structure: the course is divided into 12 sections; each section covers a group of topics about using WordPress.com, it should be noted that the WordPress.com is totally different from the fully featured WordPress that you download from WordPress.org.
Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the tutorial you’re interested in at the menu at the left side of the webpage.
Pros
- Free.
- The course is well-structured for beginners.
Cons
- The tutorial covers only WordPress.com “WordPress.com is different from WordPress.org; you shall know the difference between the two when you start any of the above courses”.
- It’s more of a getting started than a course/tutorial.
Verdict: The tutorial is very suitable for beginners who aren’t interested in the video tutorials provided by the other sources, also it’s suitable for WordPress.com only.
WordPress Codex
WordPress Codex is a free outlet where you can learn WordPress, the tutorial provided has no videos the same as Learn WordPress. You don’t need to register to start the tutorial, just open the website and just start the tutorial.
Structure: the tutorial is divided into four steps (sections); each step covers a group of topics about WordPress.
Interface: The interface is very simple, just click on the section you’re interested in and you’ll be directed to the tutorial.
Pros
- Free.
- Well-structured for beginners.
- Available in many languages.
Cons
- There are no videos or interactive material, so that might be a drawback for some.
Verdict: The tutorial is very suitable for beginners who are not interested in the video tutorials provided by the other sources, it’s also a valuable source in your library as a WordPress user.
Bottom Line
- First, download and install WampServer on your local computer, don’t forget that.
- Start wpbeginners or treehouse.
- Read WordPress Codex.
- if you want a one stop shop then SiteGround is your way to go.
- If you’re one of those people who can’t study except from a book, then the free book “Learn WordPress: The Ultra Basics” is the one for you.
Remember that the first step is always the toughest step, and the aim of this post is to provide you with resources that will help you take your first step in WordPress.