50 WordPress Tutorials for Beginners

WordPress is one of the most popular and user-friendly CMS systems on the planet. In fact, WordPress powers 35% of the entire Internet and is the foundation for 60% of all CMS-built websites. That’s a lot of web power from one CMS system! 

It goes without saying that any web developer in 2020 needs to be able to work in WordPress and should have some knowledge of the system. While it’s a straight-forward and easy to use system, it is still worthwhile to take the time to learn it and understand everything about it so you can maximize the success and prosperity of each new website you build. 

As experienced web developers, we at Web Sharx can say that when it comes to WordPress tutorials, we’ve seen it all. When you’re just starting out, the world of web development can be complex and, at times, confusing. Following a tutorial is a great way to make sure you’re avoiding any mistakes. For that reason, we’ve put together our list of the top 50 WordPress tutorials for beginners that have the most helpful and reliable information.

1. Create a Pro Website – What is WordPress?

If you’ve never used WordPress before or are looking to make the jump to a new CMS, What is WordPress? is the video to watch. This YouTube tutorial explains everything you need to know about the system itself and why it’s a great option for your website, while taking you through an introductory-level tutorial about the various things you can do via WordPress. As a bonus, all of this information is given to you in a friendly manner by a web developer, Dale McManus, who understands the struggle that newcomers go through.

2. WPBeginner – How to Install WordPress

The first thing you’ll need to do when it’s time to get started on WordPress is install it. How to Install WordPress by WPBeginner is a complete tutorial that gets right down to the basics and gives you step by step instructions to get everything up and running. It’s very helpful for anyone, whether this is your first time using WordPress or you’re an industry expert. The tutorial breaks down the instructions based on level of experience, the type of computer you’re using, and the hosting platform you have, so you can always find the right information for your specific situation easily and quickly.

3. Tyler Moore – How to Make a WordPress Website in 24 Easy Steps

Tyler Moore’s tutorial How to Make a WordPress Website in 24 Easy Steps is a great video to watch when you’re ready to start building your website, especially if you’re not overly experienced in website development. Moore takes you step by step, promising “no step skipped” in the process. In the description, it’s broken down by section with timestamps so you can choose to skip certain steps if you already have that covered (for example, if you already have your domain name and hosting, you can skip to step 3). If you follow each step closely, the entire development process will become that much easier for you and you’ll end up with a professional quality website.

4. WPSetup

WPSetup is a website dedicated entirely to helping amateur or beginner-level developers get set up and running on WordPress. They have articles and guidelines for a variety of the WordPress features you’re probably going to be using, like setting up a blog, monetizing your website, and determining hosting options. Each is divided into sub-categories depending on what you’re looking for, which is ideal for those who know how to do some things but are maybe a little iffy about the others. There are also some reviews in the themes tutorial, so you can make an educated decision when choosing which one to go with.

5. WPMU DEV – How to Create a Landing Page Template For Your Theme

A landing page template will come in handy when it comes time to start a variety of business efforts like digital marketing, SEO optimization, driving conversions, selling your product or service, or other promotions. For this reason, it’s important to have a template set up and ready to go so you can maintain consistency and easily publish new landing pages whenever you need them. The WPMU DEV tutorial on creating a landing page template shows you how to create this template using simple code within your theme, giving you everything you need to start creating.

6. Creative Bloq – How to Speed up and Optimize WordPress Sites

This is a handy tutorial from Creative Bloq to bookmark and keep on hand when it comes to optimizing the performance of your website. It’s important to make sure your website is fully maximizing user experience and ensuring that your audience doesn’t face any technical issues that could drive them away (possibly forever). Your site speed is an easily fixable technical issue that does have an impact on your conversion rate, so take the right steps to stay ahead of the game and captivate your audience for as long as possible. 

7. WPShout – How to Customize Your WordPress Sidebar

When you’re using a template, it can be difficult to help your website stand out and express your brand’s individuality. With this WPShout tutorial on customizing your WordPress sidebar, you will learn how to update and change the features and content within that sidebar to help make your website look more personalized.

8. WPBeginner – How to Use FTP to Upload Files to WordPress for Beginners

Another video from WPBeginner, this tutorial takes you step by step through the process of using FTP to upload files to WordPress in a clear and easy way. FTP (file transfer protocol) is one of the easiest and most common ways to upload files to your WordPress site right from your computer, and is something you’ll be using often while you’re working on your website, especially when there’s an issue and you can’t log in. It’s great to understand everything about the process in full detail, so pay close attention. If you’ve been having some technical issues with your file transfer, this video could have the solutions you need.

9. WordPress Lessons

When it comes to learning how to use a software or program properly, why not take the information right from the source itself? The WordPress Lessons are a series of tutorials published right on WordPress from its developers offering support and information on how to get through many of the basic tasks you’ll likely need to perform regularly. It goes through everything from getting started to customization, maintenance, and security in easy-to-understand language.

10. SiteGround WordPress Tutorials

SiteGround is another great online resource with a collection of beginner-level tutorials that cover everything from installing and updating WordPress to publishing, optimization, and maintenance. It’s all written in straight-forward, how-to language that can be helpful when you’re just starting out. They regularly post new tutorials, with the most recent updates from the platform, so you can keep staying up to date while you keep up with your shiny new website.

11. Kori Ashton – Webtegrity

If you’re looking for step-by-step YouTube tutorials on all things WordPress, check out Kori Ashton’s Webtegrity channel. She has an entire playlist of WordPress tutorials specifically for beginners, including an introduction to CSS, security, quick fixes for common errors, best practices, and more. It’s a great ongoing resource to have too, as she publishes new videos every “WordPress Wednesday” with up-to-date information that could also help you boost your marketing strategy through your website.

12. Suited up Code – How to Create a WordPress Theme From Scratch

This online tutorial from Suited up Code shows you the step-by-step process of creating your own WordPress theme from beginning to end. It’s a good breakdown of the specific code you’ll need to use and how to implement it within your site’s .php files, something you’ll need to know if you plan on continuing to do your own development.

13. Website Learners – How to Install WordPress Locally on Your PC

When it comes to building your WordPress site, you want to make sure everything is ready to go and functioning properly before you hit “launch.” That’s where installing WordPress locally comes in, and this tutorial from Website Learners will show you what you need to know to get it done. This quick 3-minute video gives you the rundown in just two easy steps.

14. SKT Themes – How to Add Icons to WordPress Custom Menus Without Plugins

Looking to spice up your site a little bit with your own flare? This quick, but informative, tutorial shows you how you can personalize your menus even further without downloading a new plugin. It will walk you through the coding process with specific instructions at every point. Adding your own icons is a great way to give your site even more of your brand’s amazing and unique personality and showcase the tone and voice you’re trying to convey.

15. CSS-Tricks – Methods for Overriding Styles in WordPress

WordPress offers a library of hundreds of free plugins you can use to make your website work exactly toward your own individual goals, from SEO optimization to e-commerce tools. However, sometimes plugins can cause conflict with one another in the CSS code of your site, impacting the way that they perform. And sometimes that means there’s a style conflict that interrupts your nicely designed website. Spare yourself the headache and read this tutorial by CSS-Tricks. This tutorial shows you how to override CSS code to fix style conflicts and make sure that your plugins aren’t blocking one another from looking the way you need them to.

16. Yoast SEO’s WordPress For Beginners Course

Yoast SEO is by far one of the most popular and widely used SEO plugins on WordPress to date. Their WordPress For Beginners course is completely free, and features four different lessons to take that cover the basics, from getting your website started to basic SEO practices. Total time for the course is about three hours, and that will cover a huge range of important topics at a very basic, beginner level. They do offer paid lessons and online courses that go into a lot more detail, but their free tutorials are a great place to learn more about the world’s most popular CMS platform.

17. ThemeIsle: WordPress Tutorials & Reviews

ThemeIsle’s dedicated YouTube channel WordPress Tutorials & Reviews is a great place to start when you’re getting into the basics of how it all works. These videos go over everything you need to know, from quick fixes to common issues to putting your entire website together from scratch. They also feature updated reviews and news as updates or other add-ons come out, so you can stay completely up-to-date when it comes to everything WordPress has to offer.

18. WPCrafter – WordPress For Non-Techies

Whether you really are a non-techie, or you’re starting out as a web developer and looking for some basic ground to cover, the WPCrafter YouTube channel is a good place to start. Since it’s designed to speak to those who don’t have a lot of technical experience, all of the information is presented in an easy-to-understand way. New videos are posted weekly, so you can keep up with all of the information you need to move yourself up the ladder from newbie to pro.

19. WPTuts – Learn WordPress

If you have a problem, chances are that WPTuts can tell you how to solve it. Instead of a more step-by-step, how to approach like some of the others on this list, WPTuts goes through problem-oriented fixes and tricks you can implement for specific things. This is a great resource to have when you’re looking for a solution to a problem, or if you have a more narrow question you’re looking to get an answer to, like how to use specific plugins or adapt a certain aspect of your code.

20. WPMU DEV – How to Easily Hide Your WordPress Login Page From Hackers

One of the biggest things that can keep web developers, business owners, and even social media managers up at night is worrying about website security. Data protection is one of the biggest issues for any website user, and a data breach is a PR nightmare for any business. With WordPress, that means making sure only those who you want to access the back end of your site can find your login page. This tutorial from WPMU DEV shows you how to keep your WordPress login page hidden from potential hackers or malicious software so everyone who accesses your site internally can stay safe and all of the data within your website is secure.

21. Tyler Moore – How to Make a WordPress Online Store

Another great tutorial by Tyler Moore, with “no step skipped,” this video explains the process of creating an online store in WordPress. He consults with another web developer on this video so you get the full inside scoop from trusted professionals. WordPress has some great plugins and capabilities for online stores and e-commerce websites, and this video provides a great run-through of everything you’ll need to know when you want to get those sites up and running efficiently.

22. Art Driver – How to Build a WordPress Theme on Bootstrap

Once you’ve mastered the basics, you may start to look into some simple web development. If you’re ready to start building your own theme and are using Bootstrap to do it, take a look at Art Driver’s tutorial before you dive in. This is a step-by-step guide to using Bootstrap, a popular CSS/HTML framework used by many custom web developers online that is commonly used within WordPress’ development system.

23. HongKiat’s WordPress Blog

It’s important for developers to stay on top of the latest blogs and information that circles around the Internet. And this is a great place to do that. HongKiat is home to a series of informative blogs about different aspects of WordPress, each functioning as its own tutorial or how-to guide to perform various functions you may need to do. For example, some blogs are about different plugins for doing different things like stylizing your fonts, while others show you how to fix things or install your own themes.

24. eMedia Coach – Make an Amazing WordPress Website for Small Business

Many of the tutorials out there are pretty long and as a business owner, or a website developer, you don’t always have time to sit through a 1-hour lesson. While a longer video may be more comprehensive and teach you more of the smaller details, sometimes you just need that quick run-through to get you going. That’s where this quick tutorial from eMedia Coach comes in. Here, they will show you how to create a basic website in just 17 minutes. The link in the video description will also take you to the text-based tutorial so you can save it as a reference later on.

25. WPApprentice – WordPress Tutorial For Beginners

This helpful tutorial from WPApprentice is actually a comprehensive, 9-module WordPress Essentials Course that takes you step by step through the process of getting a WordPress website up and running. They do offer other paid courses you can take, but this Getting Started course is free. The best part is that it’s broken down into modules, so if you already know some of these steps or you’ve already mastered the first little bit, you can just pick up wherever you are. So, for example, if you already have your website built but you need help with coding or plugins, you can skip down to Module 5, which walks you through the customization options.

26. Zac Gordon – JavaScript for WordPress Bootcamp

If you spend any amount of time in WordPress, you’ll know you need to be at least somewhat familiar with Javascript. Zac Gordon’s Javascript for WordPress series helps you learn more about how it works in very easy, simple steps. Gordon offers 12-week paid premium courses for a yearly fee that take a deep dive into the coding world, but he also uploads informative and helpful videos to his YouTube channel that you can check out for basic information.

27. iThemes – WordPress 101

Like many of the other tutorials in this list, iThemes’ WordPress 101 offers a series of tutorials that cover a wide basis of learning. There are smaller tutorials if you need help with specific actions, like uploading and optimizing images or installing plugins, as well as a broad overview with step by step instructions for using WordPress from the very beginning. They also offer a free Getting Started ebook you can download to give you a handy resource you can keep with you for current or future websites.

28. WP Hub – An Overview of The WordPress Admin

If you’ve never used WordPress before or are still unfamiliar with the back end, the Overview of the WordPress Admin tutorial from WP Hub is a great read to get you started. Essentially, this tutorial walks you through how to manage and navigate the back end and use the admin features of the CMS for a variety of potential needs and tasks. From posting pages to managing users, this guide covers everything you’ll need to get started, which is especially important if the website you’re building will be dealing with a large staff who will all be using the CMS internally.

29. Martie Dread – Let’s Build WordPress

Let’s Build WordPress is a YouTube channel dedicated to all things WordPress, with great tutorials by expert Martie Dread. The featured video even shows you step by step how to build your own WordPress site from scratch in 60 minutes or less. Not every video is an hour – some videos show you how to get started in just 15 minutes. These tutorials are all geared toward beginners, so you can learn at an easy pace.

30. Elegant Themes – WordPress Reusable Blocks: How to Import, Export, and Create Them

Elegant Themes is the company that built and owns Divi, one of the most popular tools for building WordPress themes on the market. So, when they post about building and customizing themes, it’s usually worth reading. This tutorial on WordPress reusable blocks (the newly updated Gutenberg editor) shows you exactly how to create, build, and deploy this helpful feature to give your website more customization and individuality. You’ll want to know how to use the Gutenberg editor because once you get the hang of it, it’s an easy and effective tool in your WordPress toolkit.

31. WP Tutoring – WordPress Tutorial For Beginners

One of the best things about this particular WordPress tutorial from WP Tutoring is the fact that it’s laid out exactly like the admin view of WordPress itself. This helps you get a better feel for the dashboard and the features that come with it, giving you a range of tutorials and guides while simultaneously putting that knowledge into practice. They offer both video tutorials and online resources so you can choose the way you want to learn, picking something that will resonate with your own learning style.

32. Lynda.com – WordPress Training and Tutorials

Lynda.com is one of the most comprehensive, detailed WordPress learning courses on the market right now. There are hundreds of videos in this program that go over almost every single aspect of the CMS. It is a paid service that charges a fee for access and enrollment, but they do offer a free one-month trial you can use if you’re in a crunch for time and just want to get a hang of the basics within that month. If you have the budget to spare, it’s worth paying for a subscription.

33. IsItWp.com – How to Accept Stripe Payments in WordPress

If you’re setting up an e-commerce website, you’re going to need to familiarize yourself with how to accept and process payments. One of the most user-friendly payment gateways is Stripe, which is used on a variety of e-commerce sites and has a lot of developer-friendly features to use. This tutorial on integrating Stripe payments by IsItWp.com gives you a walk-through on how to get everything set up so you can run your online business smoothly.

34. Launch Party – Website in a Weekend

The Website in a Weekend course from Launch Party is a free 3-day challenge for beginners learning how to get a website up and running in WordPress. On the first day, you learn how to get your website set up and running with hosting, domains, and so on. The second day walks you through the design process, such as using themes and creating your own style that reflects your brand or business. On the third and last day, you’ll go through everything you need to know to optimize and finalize your website to get it ready to launch, like creating mobile responsive content and fixing your site speed.

35. Creative Bloq – How to Build a Client Portal With WordPress

One of the reasons we love WordPress so much is that it’s a comprehensive CMS platform that can be used for so many different things, and you can make it function for a variety of aspects of your business. This tutorial from Creative Bloq shows you how to build a client portal, which will provide each of your clients or customers with their own unique login and password they can use to access documents, files, and other important resources. Links to download the tutorial as a file are also available so you can keep it on hand any time you need to repeat this process in the future.

36. Ferdy Korpershoek

With a base of over 100,000 subscribers, Ferdy Korpershoek has developed quite a presence in the world of web development because of his straightforward, no-nonsense attitude toward WordPress and online commerce. He regularly posts new videos explaining the basics of using WordPress in an easy-to-follow way that will help you get set up, launch, monetize your site, and drive more conversions once it’s up and running.

37. Hostinger Tutorials – WordPress Tutorial

If you are a real beginner, with minimal to no WordPress experience, this tutorial from Hostinger Tutorials is a great starting point. You can choose to watch the video or read the text, allowing you to pick an option that will resonate with your learning style. Essentially, this step walks you through everything, including the very basics on what WordPress is, what it can do, and how to use it properly. The site also offers access to other resources like ebooks and an online Facebook community where beginners can connect with other WordPress users.

38. Learn Woo – WooCommerce Tutorials

For those of you who are working with e-commerce websites, Learn Woo offers a series of tutorials on various issues and situations that could come up when using WooCommerce. This is a great place for information for online selling industries that come with a completely different set of areas of concern. As you may or may not know, WooCommerce is one of the most popular, commonly used e-commerce plugins on WordPress, and powers the majority of the CMS’ e-commerce businesses. It’s great to know everything about how it works so you can use it as efficiently as possible.

39. WebsiteSetup – WordPress Tutorial

A great resource in and of itself, WebsiteSetup is a website dedicated to providing detailed instructions on how to set up a website on a variety of platforms, from start to finish. Their WordPress Tutorial takes you through the process specifically on WordPress, with all of the information you need to know to make sure you’re avoiding any potential issues and getting yourself on track to success. Everything from how to change your settings to adding users to your account are covered, with complete instructions and screenshots to help you follow along and read the instructions carefully.

40. Kinsta – WordPress Security

As we mentioned before, security is an essential component for your website and is something many of your audience members are very concerned about. Kinsta’s WordPress Security tutorial takes you through the steps you need to take to make sure your site data is locked down and protected from potential hackers. From making sure your plugins are up-to-date to adding additional security measures, the information in this tutorial will help you avoid future security breaches that could end up in a PR disaster.

41. Elegant Themes – WP Recipe Maker Plugin Overview & Review

Sometimes when you’re working with a website in a very niche or industry-specific field, there are a few extra steps and add-ons you should think about to fully optimize your website. The food and lifestyle industry is a major online community that has so many options for customization and individuality. Another helpful theme-related tutorial from the experts at Elegant Themes, this overview and review discusses the WP Recipe Maker Plugin. This is a great tutorial for beginners who are working within the food industry, like food suppliers, chefs and restaurants, online grocers, and food bloggers.

42. WPKube – How to Use TranslatePress to Translate Your Website

Taking your business global is a goal that a lot of companies share, but not everyone has the tools or resources to put that goal in action. With the WPKube tutorial on using TranslatePress, you can format your website in multiple languages to reach potential traffic and audiences around the world. Not everyone fully knows how to get across this hurdle, so if you’re feeling stuck, you can turn to this tutorial for helpful guidance.

43. Joy of WP – WP A to Z Series

Joy of WP offers two free WordPress tutorial courses, the How to WordPress course and the WP A to Z Series. All you need to do is make a free account and you can access the full course and its modules on the website. The WP A to Z Series takes you through the process of building a WordPress website step by step, designed specifically for beginners with little to no knowledge of the platform. If you have the time to spare, it’s worth the free enrollment so you can gain a superior knowledge of the software.

44. LearnWebCode – Introduction to WordPress

If you’re a real beginner, starting right from scratch, with little to no knowledge of code or the platform itself, you might want to check out this introductory tutorial from LearnWebCode. This video provides you with an easy-to-follow walkthrough in just under 15 minutes that shows you the basics of the platform and all of the things you can do from the admin panel in the back end. It goes through elements such as posts, plugins, and more so you can get a quick base knowledge before you put your new skills to work.

45. Hogan Chua – How to Make a WordPress Website

This tutorial from Hogan Chua walks you through how to make a WordPress website in a comprehensive, detail-oriented way. The whole tutorial is about 4 hours long, so if you’ve got the time to spare it’s a great way to get an in-depth look at the way that websites are built. Later on in the video, Chua also goes through some of the important SEO and optimization elements as well to make sure you’re covering all of your bases.

46. Traversy Media – WordPress Website Build For Beginners

Another great start-from-scratch tutorial, this video from Traversy Media walks you through the step-by-step process of building a website on WordPress. The great part about this tutorial is that they go through the steps with you and create a site for a fictional financial company. This gives you an example to follow, which can be a really helpful way to learn new skills.

47. Ahrefs – WordPress SEO Tutorial For Beginners

When it comes to your SEO optimization strategy, you can never have enough help. That’s where this WordPress SEO Tutorial For Beginners comes in. SEO is an incredibly important part of website development and is something you’ll always have to consider, no matter what stage of the process you’re in. This tutorial goes through all of the SEO-based features of WordPress and shows you where you need to be optimizing, so you don’t miss out on any valuable opportunities to increase traffic.

48. WPBeginner – How to Install Google Analytics For WordPress

Once your website is live, it’s important to collect data and monitor your metrics so you can make strategic decisions based on performance. No matter what type of business you’re operating, this is a key step in growing your online traffic and ensuring that your website is working the way you need it to. This tutorial from WPBeginner shows you everything you need to know to get Google Analytics integrated and up and running on your WordPress website, including how to make your account and how to find the information you need in the back end of WordPress.

49. Theme Grill – How to Create a WordPress Website

Another great how-to guide to get you started as you enter the world of WordPress, this detailed tutorial from Theme Grill takes you through how to build a website from start to finish. It’s organized by section, so if you need to look up something specific you can just jump to whatever section you need. It also comes complete with screenshots to keep you from getting lost in all of the helpful information.

50. Kinsta – WordPress Sitemap Guide

Creating a sitemap for your website is an important step in ensuring that your new website is fully optimized for SEO. Google indexes websites using the sitemap, so you want to make sure 

Kinsta’s WordPress Sitemap Guide walks you through the entire process of creating a sitemap on your WordPress website, and goes a bit further in explaining why it’s so important. Like many of these tutorials, this is a great resource to keep on hand for every website you create.