Complete guide: create a WordPress Showcase Website easily, step-by-step

Ready to start creating your first WordPress website?

One question might be on your mind: where do I start? Don’t worry, this guide is here to help! We will guide you from the very beginning to the creation of your first WordPress website, helping you master every part like a real pro. 🚀

Our Free WordPress Website Creation Guide is a complete resource for anyone who wants to build a website using the popular content management system (CMS) WordPress. The guide covers everything about creating and setting up a WordPress website, from its design and customization using themes and plugins, to improving its visibility on search engines (SEO). It also gives detailed instructions on how to start using your blog and other features available on WordPress.

Are you ready to take the bull by the horns and start this adventure?

💡 Summary of the steps to follow and questions to ask to create a WordPress showcase website easily and for free in 2025:

Questions to Ask and Steps to Follow for Creating a Free WordPress Showcase website in 2025	Description
🚀 Why choose WordPress to create your showcase website for free?	WordPress lets you set up and manage websites more easily than others, and for free. It offers tons of possibilities.
🎨 Choose the best WordPress Theme	To know which direction you’re going with your showcase website, we recommend taking the time to choose the WordPress theme that suits you best. Tip: Divi is really the best!
👀 How to create a WordPress showcase website for free?	This guide provides detailed instructions on how to start using WordPress to create a showcase website for free.
🔎 How to choose your Domain Name and where to buy it?	The domain name should be short, easy to remember, and simple to say.
🖥 How to choose a good WordPress host for a showcase website?	You need to consider the price, server performance, customer support quality and availability, server uptime, ease of use, and a good hosting control panel. Tip: EasyHoster is really the best! Promo code: BIENVENUE15 (-15% discount)
↧ Installing WordPress to create your free showcase website!	You need to link the domain name to the web hosting, order a free SSL certificate, and install WordPress automatically in 1 click.
⚙️ Basic WordPress Configuration (Settings tab)	You need to set up the website title, tagline, time zone, and date format.
🖌 Customize the Web Design of your showcase website, what are the best WordPress themes?	There is a list of the best WordPress themes to customize the web design of a showcase website.
📃 Create pages, posts, and edit the content of your WordPress showcase website: page builders!	It’s possible to create pages and posts using page builders like Divi Builder, Beaver Builder, Visual Composer, WP Bakery, and Elementor.
📝 Create a navigation menu	You should simplify the menu by using as few items as possible, give clear and simple labels to the items, and avoid sub-menus in most cases.
⚒ Add features to your WordPress showcase website	It’s possible to add features to a WordPress showcase website by using plugins.
🎯 How to make your WordPress showcase website appear on Google?	You need to optimize the website’s SEO using tips like search engine visibility, using an SEO plugin like Yoast SEO, and improving the website’s loading speed.
🔐 How to secure a WordPress showcase website?	You need to take security measures such as updating plugins, using a secure WordPress host, and monitoring the site regularly.
🔑 You are the proud owner of a real WordPress showcase website!	After following the steps, the reader becomes the owner of a WordPress showcase website.
🎁 Is it too complicated? We have a free solution!	EasyHoster offers a turnkey solution: a pre-configured showcase website with the Divi theme. All you have to do is customize it!

Why Choose WordPress to Create Your Showcase website for Free?

That’s it, you’ve decided! You are going to create your own website with WordPress.
By choosing WordPress, you are choosing a solution that is very popular! According to the latest numbers, in 2025, WordPress powers over 64.1% of websites worldwide! That many people can’t be wrong, right?

And it’s no wonder WordPress is so popular. It allows you to set up and manage websites more easily than others, and it’s free! Plus, it offers a ton of possibilities: a professional showcase website, a personal blog, an online store, a news website, etc.

With WordPress, there’s no need to touch a single line of code (CSS/HTML) to create websites.

Whether you’re a beginner blogger, an ambitious entrepreneur, an artist looking to get noticed, a small business getting started online, or a student wanting to showcase your skills, get ready to be impressed by what’s next!

You don’t need any skills to create your first WordPress website! And if you ever feel overwhelmed and need answers to your WordPress questions for free, think about the technical support from EasyHoster! It’s much more than just a hosting company! And that’s not all, use our promo code BIENVENUE15 to get a 15% discount on your first EasyHoster WordPress hosting plan!

How to Create a WordPress Showcase website for Free?

Yes, that’s why you’re here… So let’s get started and jump right into it.

1. How to choose your Domain Name and where to buy it?

We’re starting off strong with building your WordPress website, and let’s talk about a key first element: your domain name.

Without it, you can’t bring your showcase website to life! It’s the first foundation of your future WordPress website.

The domain name is like your website’s mailing address on the internet. For example, mister-wp.com is the domain name for this blog.

A domain name has two parts:

• A name, a brand, etc., which is a set of characters, like “Mister-WP”
• An extension (e.g., .com, .be, .fr, .ch, etc.).

Choosing a good domain name is a big deal. It should meet several criteria:

• Be short;
• Easy to remember;
• Simple to pronounce.

Of course, your domain name must also be available to buy. Check that someone hasn’t beaten you to it by doing a search on EasyHoster.com, for example.

Note that EasyHoster can also give you a free domain name when you purchase a Pro hosting plan or higher.

2. How to choose a good WordPress host for a showcase website?

If the domain name is your mailing address on the web, think of the host as your house, your digital home. A web host is a company that stores the files that make up your website (in this case, a WordPress showcase website) and its database, so that it’s always accessible, 24/7.

There are different types of hosting, but for beginners, shared hosting is the way to go. It’s the best way to get started easily and for a low price.

We already published an article in 2022 about WordPress hosts. Feel free to read it for more details on the main WordPress hosting providers:

Note that WordPress.com is not a host; it’s more of an online platform to create a WordPress website. The free version doesn’t have the same options as installing WordPress, the open-source CMS, with a hosting company. Besides not truly owning your website and being limited in options/features, ads may be displayed on your beloved website…

Here, of course, we are interested in WordPress the CMS (WordPress.org). It’s a tool you can install with your host. This is the version used by Mister-WP and the one you’ll learn about in this guide.

To find your ideal WordPress host, here are a few things to pay attention to:

• The price: on average, expect to pay about $10/month to host your WordPress showcase website.
• The server performance. For example, with EasyHoster, you get performance similar to dedicated servers at shared hosting prices… In today’s world, that’s a great option!
• The quality and availability of customer service. If there’s a problem, it’s always good to get quick answers. Make sure the host also answers questions related to WordPress. Many do not! And of course, I don’t need to remind you that EasyHoster does 😉
• The server uptime. Ask your host if they have a public page showing the overall availability of their servers.
• Ease of use.
• A good hosting control panel. At a minimum, cPanel! This admin interface isn’t available with all hosts, but it’s a nice bonus because it makes common tasks easy (creating email addresses, redirects, changing PHP versions, etc.).

Before you start, a little reminder of the 15% off promo code for your first EasyHoster hosting: BIENVENUE15.

Alright, do you have your domain name and your WordPress hosting space for your Showcase webite? Then let’s continue the adventure!

3. Installing WordPress to create your free showcase website!

Connecting Your Domain Name to Your Web Hosting

Before that, you will need to point your domain name to your WordPress host using nameservers (NS / DNS). After becoming a customer at EasyHoster, for example, you will receive a welcome email with the nameservers to use. Feel free to open a ticket with their technical support to help you point your domain name.

Order a free SSL certificate (HTTPS)

Next, you will need to request an SSL certificate (HTTPS) for this new domain name. To avoid getting too technical here (because it varies from one host to another), turn to your WordPress host. You can already see here that it’s important to have a host with responsive and helpful technical support for WordPress…

Installing WordPress Automatically in 1 Click

To install WordPress online, you have two options: automatic installation or manual installation. Automatic installation is what hosts call “1-click installation”: software does everything for you. This is perfect for beginners who want an easy and fast solution. Manual installation is much longer and more complex. So, if you’re starting to create your first free WordPress showcase website, focus on the automatic method.

With all good WordPress hosts, you should have access to CMS installers like Softaculous or WordPress Toolkit, which let you launch your website in just a few seconds. It’s magic!

Did you follow the steps to install your first WordPress Showcase website? Yay! You did it! Here is what it looks like:

It’s not very pretty… But be patient, because there are several steps to go through before you dive into customizing your website’s appearance. Don’t worry, it will only take a few minutes and will save you a lot of trouble later.

4. Basic WordPress Configuration (Settings tab)

To get started, go to your WordPress dashboard using this address: yoursite.com/wp-admin.

Then, go to the “Settings” section.

In the “General” tab, take a look at these values to change:

• Website Title and Tagline: these are the elements that appear at the top of your website.
• Timezone: select your capital city from the list to be properly synchronized.
• Date Format: choose the one that suits you for the best presentation.

In the “Reading” tab, if you are creating a blog, leave the first setting as is. Otherwise, select “A static page” to set a specific page as your homepage, after you have created it.

Now let’s move on to “Permalinks“! It might seem a bit scary, but don’t worry, it’s simple. Permalinks are the format of your page addresses. Go to Settings > Permalinks and choose “Post name“.

Don’t forget to save your changes to apply them.

It’s important not to touch these settings again later, otherwise your visitors will have trouble finding your pages and will run into 404 – Page not found errors.

5. Customize the Web Design of your showcase website, what are the best WordPress themes?

If you are looking for a free WordPress theme, a premium one, or simply the best WordPress template for creating your showcase website, look no further, we have what you need!

In this ranking, you will definitely find the WordPress theme of your dreams because they have been selected and sorted based on their popularity.

If you would rather have a WordPress theme specially designed for showcase websites, you can check out this more selective list:

Personally, we couldn’t live without the premium theme Divi!

Once you have chosen your WordPress theme, all you have to do is le personnaliser en suivant la documentation fournie par leur support technique.

6. Create pages, posts, and edit the content of your WordPress showcase website: page builders!

WordPress is not as complicated as it was a few years ago. Now, to create your WordPress showcase website, you have access to visual tools that allow you to create pages using “drag and drop”. Easy, right?

Really, imagine creating custom layouts without even having to code. You would just add pre-designed modules and templates to your content using a simple drag and drop.

Page builders, such as Divi Builder, Beaver Builder, Visual Composer, WP Bakery, and Elementor, allow you to do just that. We are on team Divi Builder, of course 😅

Here is also our complete comparison of the best WordPress page builders:

For your first WordPress website, keep in mind that simplicity is key. Remember that your website is not for you, but for your visitors.

It is very important that they feel comfortable when browsing it and that they easily understand what it offers. Otherwise, they will leave as quickly as they arrived.

7. Create a navigation menu

To create your first menu, go to your WordPress dashboard > Appearance > Menus.

Enter the name of your menu and choose its future location:

Finally, add the pages of your choice to the menu and finish by saving your changes.

Here are some useful tips to optimize your menus:

• Simplify them as much as possible by using a minimum number of items.
• Make sure each item has a clear and simple label, so users know what to expect when they click on it.
• In most cases, avoid sub-menus to keep the navigation from getting complicated.

8. Add features to your WordPress showcase website

We’ve already talked about WordPress themes, now let’s dive into another essential part of WordPress: WordPress plugins.

These little marvels allow you to give your website new features without having to code. And the best part is that they offer almost limitless possibilities! This is what really makes WordPress so powerful.

You should know that as of 2025, there are no less than 59,000 free plugins officially listed on WordPress.org. And if you want even more, you can also find paid plugins on specialized marketplaces like CodeCanyon.

To help you get started, here are the 50 best plugins we recommend. They can be used on all types of websites, whether it’s a blog, an online store, a portfolio, and many more:

Of course, don’t install all of them! This is just a list of commonly used plugins that could be useful for your WordPress showcase website project…

9. How to make your WordPress showcase website appear on Google?

Once you have written the content for your posts, you are ready to make them visible on search engines!
And to do that, let’s get straight to the point with some essential tips.

PS: if you haven’t written your content yet, which would be normal, we also have advice for you:

In the Settings > Reading menu, start by checking that the “Search Engine Visibility” box is unchecked.

We don’t want Google and its bots to not visit your website, right? Otherwise, all your hard work might go unnoticed (and that would be a real shame!).

Next, we recommend installing a plugin like Yoast SEO to help you with your Google ranking work. While it doesn’t guarantee a top spot in the SERPs (Search Engine Results Pages) for your chosen keyword, it will help you optimize your content and charm the search engines.

Now, let’s get to the serious stuff. To get on Google’s good side, your website needs to perform well. Understand that it needs to load at a supersonic speed. We don’t want visitors to feel like time is dragging on, do we? Well, there’s another reason why you need to choose a high-performance WordPress host.

Here’s another little step-by-step guide:

Pssst, by the way, EasyHoster can also advise you on improving your website’s speed (Google PageSpeed score) and your Google ranking. That’s what being more than just a host is all about, right?

To go further, here are also some SEO tips:

10. How to secure a WordPress showcase website?

To finalize your website, you might be interested in learning more about WordPress security?

As you already know, WordPress is a target for many hacking attempts due to its unmatched popularity. But don’t worry, it is secure by itself. But just to insist: if you have a good, secure WordPress host, you normally don’t even need to worry about this 😉

In fact, the main causes of hacking are often outdated plugins or plugins with a security flaw. But thanks to what you’ve just read, you’ll already be well ahead of the game!

Nevertheless, here are a few steps to clean your WordPress showcase website if it has already been hacked and to secure it if it hasn’t yet:

That’s it, you are the proud owner of a real WordPress showcase website!

You must have spent a few hours behind your screen creating your WordPress website by following our article 😁 But the work was worth it, wasn’t it? Creating a WordPress showcase website was within your reach even though you had no prior knowledge!

You learned how to choose a quality domain name and host, as well as how to install and configure WordPress. You also discovered how to add content, optimize it for search engines, and customize your website’s design. And let’s not forget the plugins! You found and activated them brilliantly.

This can be a somewhat complex task, especially if it was your first time. But we sincerely hope that everything is working correctly now.

Now, you might be wondering, “What’s next?” Well, the adventure of your WordPress showcase website doesn’t stop here! Remember to maintain it, evolve it, and take care of it so that it helps you achieve all your goals.

Did that seem a bit complex? Don’t miss the last piece of advice in this article!

Creating a website with a local web agency: the example of Annecy

Using a local web agency to create your website has many advantages. First of all, a local agency better understands the specifics and expectations of your target market, which allows them to create a website perfectly suited to your needs. Let’s take for example the creation of a website in Annecy: an agency from the Haute-Savoie region will know the local economic fabric better and will have better connections on website than a counterpart based several hundred kilometers away. They can thus design a website that will resonate perfectly with the specifics of the region.

Working with a local agency also makes discussions and face-to-face meetings easier, which is often essential for optimal project follow-up and smooth communication. This geographical proximity also allows for quick intervention when needed and better management of unforeseen events.

Customization and optimization of your website

Once the choice of agency is made, customizing your website is a key step to reflect your visual identity and your values. Local agencies, like those in Annecy, are particularly good at integrating regional and cultural elements into the website’s design. This approach can enhance the authenticity and attractiveness of your online presence.

Also note that these agencies generally have sharp expertise in local SEO. This is an essential element to improve your visibility on search engines. SEO optimization includes the use of relevant keywords and the creation of adapted content, the goal being to increase the chances of reaching your local audience and generating qualified traffic.

Maintaining and evolving your website

Once your website is online, you can’t just leave it alone. Regular maintenance is essential to ensure the security, performance, and relevance of your website. Local agencies often offer ongoing maintenance services, including security updates, bug fixes, and the addition of new features. These services ensure that your website remains efficient and secure, while allowing you to focus on your core business. These agencies can offer regular analysis to monitor the website’s performance and adjust strategies accordingly.

Leveraging new technologies and web trends

The field of website creation is evolving rapidly, with new technologies and new trends emerging regularly. A local web agency at the forefront of trends, like those located in Annecy, can advise you on the latest innovations to adopt to keep your website modern and competitive. Whether it’s the integration of artificial intelligence, optimization for mobile devices, or the use of new development frameworks, these agencies will help you stay at the forefront of technology. Finally, they will make recommendations on the best UX/UI practices to ensure an optimal user experience that will retain your visitors and turn prospects into customers.

Is it too complicated (or too expensive) for you? We have a free solution!

You followed the steps, but really, is it too complicated?

Don’t get discouraged! It’s true that these first steps are the most complex…

EasyHoster has thought ahead by preparing a ready-to-use Turnkey Showcase website for you to simply customize:

Turnkey Showcase website ↗︎

• You can choose a free domain name
• No need to install WordPress,
• No need to choose a theme (you will get Divi for free!!),
• No need to choose plugins (unless you want more features)
• No need to secure the showcase website (it’s already done)

Your one and only task will be to follow a free training video step by step that will show you how to customize each of your pages with Divi and the Divi Builder.

And don’t forget your 15% off promo code for creating your WordPress showcase website: BIENVENUE15.

This post is also available in: Français (French)