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Website Setup

This document provides a step-by-step guide to setting up a website from scratch, including domain registration, hosting, WordPress installation, plugins, pages, and email configuration.

1. Domain Registration

  1. Choose a domain registrar
  2. Search for available domains using the registrar's search tool.
  3. Purchase your desired domain.
  4. Configure DNS settings:
    • Access the domain's DNS management panel.
    • Update the Nameservers to point to your hosting provider (your host will provide these, e.g., ns1.host.com, ns2.host.com).
    • Optionally, configure A Records or CNAME if using custom setups. For more details about DNS records, please follow DNS Records page.

Note: For .tr domains, trabis.gov.tr is the official registry site.

2. Hosting Setup

  1. Choose a hosting provider:
  2. Select a hosting plan:
    • Shared hosting (for small websites)
    • VPS hosting (for medium to large websites)
    • Dedicated hosting (for high traffic)
  3. Purchase hosting and link it with your domain:
    • Enter your domain name during setup.
    • Update your domain's nameservers to match your hosting provider (if not done already).

Reseller / Multiple Sites Hosting

  • Use WHM (Web Host Manager) for multiple websites.
  • Access WHM via your host-provided URL, e.g., xxxx.fcomet.com:9999.
  • Configure each website individually through cPanel accounts.

3. Access cPanel

Most hosts provide cPanel for managing your website:

  • Log in to cPanel using credentials from your host.
  • Key sections in cPanel:
    • File Manager: Upload files
    • Databases (MySQL/MariaDB): Create databases for WordPress
    • Email Accounts: Setup email addresses
    • Domain Manager: Add/remove domains or subdomains
    • Softaculous/App Installer: One-click WordPress installation

4. WordPress Installation

Automatic Installation (via cPanel)

  • Navigate to Softaculous / WordPress Installer.
  • Select your domain.
  • Fill in:
    • Site Name
    • Admin Username
    • Admin Password
    • Email
  • Click Install.
  • Access your WordPress dashboard: yourdomain.com/wp-admin.

Manual Installation

  1. Download WordPress from wordpress.org.
  2. Upload WordPress files to your host via File Manager or FTP.
  3. Create a database in cPanel:
    • Go to MySQL Databases
    • Create a database, user, and assign user to database
  4. Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and add database details:
    • Database name
    • Username
    • Password
    • Host (localhost)
  5. Access your domain in a browser and follow the WordPress setup wizard.

5. WordPress Configuration

  • Log in to the WordPress admin dashboard.
  • Set General Settings: Site Title, Tagline, Timezone.
  • Set Permalinks (Settings > Permalinks) to Post name for SEO-friendly URLs.

Plugins

  • Navigate to Plugins > Add New.
  • Install and activate the necessary plugins.

Essential plugins:

  • Security (e.g., Wordfence)
  • SEO (e.g., Yoast SEO)
  • Cache (e.g., W3 Total Cache)
  • Backup (e.g., UpdraftPlus)
  • WooCommerce (e.g., for e-commerce sites)
  • Classic Editor & Widgets
  • Jetpack (site stats)
  • WP Reset (reset/testing)
  • Yoast SEO / Rank Math SEO (basic SEO)
  • BuddyPress (for user management)
  • Site Kit by Google
  • iThemes Security
  • ShortPixel / Imagify (image optimization)

Themes

  • Go to Appearance > Themes > Add New.
  • Choose a free or premium theme.
  • Customize via Appearance > Customize.

Essential themes:

  • Sources:
  • Builders:
  • Notes:
    • Prefer plugins over editing theme code to preserve changes during updates
    • Free themes: Storefront, Astra, Cenote (simple setup)

6. Adding Pages and Content

  1. Pages: Go to Pages > Add New for Home, About, Contact, etc.
  2. Posts: Go to Posts > Add New for blog entries.
  3. Menus: Go to Appearance > Menus to organize navigation.
  4. Widgets: Go to Appearance > Widgets to add sidebars, footers, and other elements.

7. Email Setup

  1. In cPanel, go to Email Accounts.
  2. Create an email (e.g., info@yourdomain.com).
  3. Configure Email Client (Outlook, Gmail, etc.) or use Webmail ((webmail.yourdomain.com)).
  4. For external email services (Google Workspace, Microsoft 365):
    • Update MX Records in your domain DNS settings.

Note: For temporary/temp/fake emails, use services like tempail.com.

8. Website Launch

  1. Test all pages, links, and forms.
  2. Enable SSL Certificate (usually via cPanel > SSL/TLS or via Let’s Encrypt). Ensure HTTPS is enforced.
  3. Verify site speed and mobile responsiveness.
  4. Backup your site before launch.
  5. Make your website public by publishing.

9. Maintenance

  • Regularly update WordPress core, themes, and plugins.
  • Monitor site performance and security.
  • Regularly backup your website and database.

10. Security

  • Enable iThemes Security plugin
  • Use Google PageSpeed Insights for performance check
  • GDPR compliance: KVKK regulations
  • Password resets via PHP/MySQL using MD5 if necessary

11. Analytics & SEO

  • Track visitor data:
    • Google Site Kit
    • Yandex Metrica (metrica.yandex.com.tr)
  • Optimize images and pages for speed
  • Keep SEO plugins updated and configure titles, meta, sitemap