How to Make a WordPress Website with Elementor in 2024

This video tutorial guides on building a WordPress website using Elementor, starting with signing up for web hosting and securing a free domain name. You will learn to install WordPress for free and download a suitable, time-saving website template. The customization process includes using the free page builder plugin, Elementor, addressing elements like the header and footer, and designing a free logo. Ensure the website looks appealing on various platforms, such as mobile, tablet, and desktop screens. Timestamps in the video assist viewers in skipping sections, adjusting playback speed, and using arrow keys for navigation.

To create a website, you need a domain name for the web address and web hosting for storing the website online. Hostinger is recommended for its affordability and customer service. After selecting a hosting plan and entering billing details, receive perks like a free domain name and daily backups. Set up a website from scratch using WordPress, which requires creating login credentials. WordPress offers website templates and plugins for customization, while AI-generated website content options are available, though starting from scratch is recommended for learning purposes.

Use a domain name reflective of your business—e.g., "My Strength Gym." Set your website's target audience for optimized performance based on location. Gain insights into WordPress's backend H-panel, from managing databases to accessing the WordPress dashboard for web management. Understand WordPress as a significant content management system handling various assets, including images and blogs. Navigate WordPress's dashboard, encompassing blog posts, media, website pages, and comments, as well as settings linked to appearance, plugins, users, and other utilities for site management.

Plugins can enrich a website's functionality. Installing a complete website template saves time even for professional designers. Download a free starter template via WordPress that includes demo content and plugins. The tutorial involves customizing these templates using Elementor, which is well-suited for beginners. Elementor offers drag-and-drop simplicity, allowing easy content creation and management. After activating Elementor, choose templates, make adjustments, and understand Elementor's interface, including the content, style, and advanced tabs and how these affect the website layout and widget management.

Elementor provides various editing options for webpage elements, like adding images, adjusting text, and deleting sections. Change fonts and headers, modify stylistic elements under the style tab, and tweak page or section spacing under the advanced tab. Update changes frequently to ensure saving of all progress. Websites should include necessary information spread across multiple sections—the top or 'hero' section, followed by operational details, services, testimonial sections, and contact information, all composed using Elementor’s easy drag-and-drop features.

For visual impact, web sections can have dynamic backgrounds, including slideshows and zoom effects, improving user engagement. Customize backgrounds, adjust header sizes, and introduce horizontal arrangements for content elements. A CSS ID can be applied for navigation enhancements, letting different sections link from the top menu. Adjust the padding for containers to improve text readability and enhance browsing experience. Consistency in style, such as uniform capitalization, helps maintain a professional look across the site.

Use Elementor to create an impactful hero section with engaging text and dynamic backgrounds. Align sections logically, moving elements like 'About' above 'Services' if needed for coherence. Images within sections like 'About' can convey professionalism and be paired with textual information relating directly to the respective business or service provided. Assemble sections using Elementor's containers and flexbox elements for flexible layout management. Ensure visibility and proper text alignment by fine-tuning textual elements and padding distances for desktops.

Customizing template sections allows for personal personalization, like testimonials, to reflect client feedback, including names and photographs. Altering testimonial backgrounds to match the overall theme enhances visual coherence. Adjust textual elements under different headers to reflect service availability, personal business skills, and more. Use the anchors feature to set CSS IDs on sections, allowing smooth navigation from menu items to each section by managing hyperlinks respective to the home page.

Introduce additional sections like contact forms using widgets like WP Forms and enhance user interaction by presenting clear calling options to business memberships or classes. Proper placement of visual and textual elements through flexbox containers and manipulation of paddings ensures professional alignment. Side-by-side flexbox components help in visually organizing content efficiently, such as displaying contact forms next to business images. Utilize Elementor's simplicity to handle media and responsiveness adjustments across sections.

Google Maps widgets facilitate business location visibility on websites, directly integrated via flexible width adjustments for banners. Use Google Maps API to pinpoint exact business locations on your site. Flexbox divisions allow for contact information arrangement—location, hours of operation, and contact details. Update and refresh Elementor to ensure all sections implement recent background color changes (from default blue to a preferable shade), maintaining a pleasing aesthetic consistency throughout the website.

Completing a website's page involves setting the website's header and footer using WordPress's customization features. Attach the newly designed logo and set the desired favicon for site branding. Menu configurations ensure seamless navigation, facilitating easy access to different site sections. Utilize global settings to apply cohesive color themes across the website, understanding CSS ID implementation for smooth navigation. These settings ensure that site branding is consistently presented across all navigational elements via header and footer adjustments.

Ensuring a website is responsive is crucial, as views on mobiles differ from desktops. Use Elementor's responsive mode to adjust design elements for mobile, tablet, and desktop viewing experiences. This involves tweaking textual elements, image sizes, and navigation menus for optimal viewing. Responsive layouts appeal to a variety of devices, ensuring functionality and aesthetic appeal across platforms. The tutorial explains how to adjust individual viewing modes without affecting others, using Elementor’s device-specific settings.

Ensure correct functionality of navigation menus on different devices using Elementor's responsive settings, reinforcing the importance of mobile-friendly site configurations. Off-canvas menus should function correctly, linking to primary menu items for simplified user access. Through responsive checks and modifications, guarantee that the user experience remains intuitive, regardless of the device. Constantly update and save work to apply these changes effectively across desktop, tablet, and mobile layouts.

Throughout the final phase, simulate user interactions on different device views to confirm all site components’ operations—from navigation flow (headers/footers) to form submissions and location maps. Regular publishing of saved configurations ensures changes are active. The guidance provided addresses basic website creation using WordPress and Elementor, focusing on one-page structure, promoting functionality, aesthetics, and business objectives. A well-structured site enhances user engagement and professional reach online.