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By TJ SoftUpdated:

First Steps with WordPress: What to Do When the Theme Doesn’t Work.

Pierwsze kroki z WordPressem, co robić gdy nie działa motyw.

Have you installed a theme, but your website is still empty? Or perhaps you’re just wondering where to download WordPress in the first place? This article is for you.

On the internet, you’ll find plenty of guides explaining how WordPress works. However, most of them overlook the fundamental difficulties faced by beginners using this website creation system. Due to its long history, WordPress can be unnecessarily complicated and sets too high a barrier to entry for people who simply want to create a simple website.

In this article, I focus on elements that can be unintuitive and may cause difficulties. These include menu and footer settings, as well as choosing the homepage (so that the page we created appears there instead of blog posts). I explain how to install WordPress and how to choose a theme. I also discuss what to do when the website is completely empty. However, I omit well-described and obvious features that anyone can easily master, such as adding new subpages or editing the homepage.

Table of Contents

WordPress.org or .com? It doesn’t matter; we install WordPress with the hosting provider.

To install WordPress, you need access to a server. The easiest way to do this is by purchasing hosting from a provider (e.g., cyberfolks, OVH, dhosting). After logging in to the customer panel, you can install a WordPress website with one click. Most hosting companies offer free subdomains, so you can test WordPress without purchasing a domain, paying only for the hosting.

You don’t need to go to wordpress.org or wordpress.com. The difference between them is that wordpress.org is an open-source project (to be installed independently on your own server), while wordpress.com is a commercial service provided by Automattic. The latter does not provide full access to the files and code, but it works as a ready-made “all-in-one” solution. However, it is more expensive and less flexible, which is why most users choose their own hosting with WordPress.org.

I installed a theme, but the page is blank. Is the theme not working?

A common problem encountered by beginner WordPress users is a blank page after installing a theme. The default WordPress view is a blog, but if it has only one post, it looks empty and incomplete.

Starter templates (an additional theme plugin) significantly make the work easier.

If the theme offers starter templates, it is worth using them. This often requires installing an additional plugin. Most major themes have this feature, although not every theme offers it, so it is a good idea to check before choosing a theme. When installing the plugin, we must remember that it still needs to be activated. Themes that offer starter templates include Astra (Spectra), Kadence, and Kubio.

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Starter templates quickly create a website with a static, configurable homepage, subpages, and a blog as another subpage.

Appearance -> Customize -> Homepage Settings

Appearance -> Customize gives us access to the global settings editing panel. Here, we can choose which subpage is the homepage and which is the blog. Additionally, this is where we configure the menu, the header for the entire site, the footer, etc.

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Next, select: Homepage Settings

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Then we choose how the homepage should work—whether it should be a blog or a static page (and which subpage should serve as the homepage, meaning the one displayed first).

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Adding a new subpage does not make it automatically visible. If it does not appear in the menu, we can fix this under Appearance → Customize → Menus.

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Automatically add to the top-level page menu.

We can also choose the option to automatically add top-level pages to the menu. This way, we don’t have to manually add a new subpage each time.

Nesting Elements, Lists, Categories: WordPress Menu Capabilities.

Menu items can also be nested, creating a drop-down list. Moreover, menu items do not have to be limited to subpages; we can add menu fields intended, for example, for specific categories in the Blog. Thus, many things can be done directly in the WordPress menu, without the need to install additional plugins.

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In WordPress, we can have multiple menus, which may be problematic when first using the system. Therefore, it is better to do everything in the main menu and ignore the rest. So, if something in the menu is not working, it is possible that we are editing a menu other than the one being displayed.

Sometimes it is useful to have a separate footer menu, but generally it is simpler just to add the appropriate links to the footer.

Page Builder (WordPress Page Editors)

In WordPress, we can have different page editors configured. For beginners, this can be problematic and unintuitive. WordPress tutorials cover specific themes and page builders, so if we do not have those solutions installed, we cannot use the tutorial.

It should therefore be remembered that in WordPress we may have various page builders installed, e.g.: WPBakery, Mesmerize, Hestia, Kadence Blocks, Spectra, Kubio, Elementor, Divi, Beaver, etc. Some of them are based on the default Gutenberg editor (Kadence, Spectra, Kubio), while others use their own solutions. Some themes are compatible with multiple editors (especially where they are based on Gutenberg), while others work with only one editor.

Gutenberg

The default Gutenberg block editor is a built-in WordPress tool for creating block-based pages. Unfortunately, at the moment, it is not sufficient for creating attractive pages; one of the problems is the spacing between blocks, which cannot be easily removed. The number of available blocks is also limited, and blocks built from scratch do not look good on mobile devices. Therefore, it is best to use an additional editor, such as Kadence Blocks.

Classic Editor and a Pinch of History

WordPress was created in 2003, 22 years ago (as of 2025). This explains why many things are unintuitive. WordPress was created at a time when websites were very simple and looked more or less like this:

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Subsequent versions of WordPress had to be compatible with previous ones; additionally, it was important that editing the site did not differ too much from previous versions.

The Gutenberg Editor was introduced in 2018 (seven years ago), while many articles have been written about how much of a quality leap it represents compared to the classic editor. In a nutshell, the classic editor was very similar to word processors such as Word; for many people, it was more convenient than the Gutenberg Editor. As a result, people who learned WordPress 20 years ago still use plugins that allow them to edit pages in the old style. However, it should be remembered that it is still a fairly old editor.

Adding and Editing New Subpages.

Pages are added via: Pages -> add page. Please remember that we must add them to the menu afterward.

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The new page is empty by default, often has an oddly set width, and displays the page title. These things can be changed manually, but it is often simpler to add new pages by duplicating existing pages. A special plugin is required for this.

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Page Settings

The visibility of the default page title, displayed as plain text at the top, can easily be disabled in the settings.

Edit page content

The easiest way to create a new page is to use ready-made blocks. Choosing the right block from hundreds of available options can be time-consuming at first, but you can learn to do it fairly quickly.

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Editing blocks, fields, and elements.

Clicking on a given element displays its navigation bar. From there, we can delete or duplicate it.

We can often change the number of columns in a given block, although this is not always possible.

I’m editing a page in WordPress, but I can’t see the menu or footer

In most editors, when editing a page, we do not see the header, menu, or footer. These elements are configured in the following view: Appearance → Customize.

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Plugins, Themes, and Other Things in WordPress

The foundation of using WordPress is choosing the right themes and plugins. It is good practice to have as few plugins as possible and remove inactive ones. However, when first getting to know WordPress, many problems can be solved simply by installing a new plugin.

If you want to learn WordPress step by step, I encourage you to read this article.

This is a practical guide in which I explain step by step how to use WordPress—from purchasing a domain and hosting, through installing the system, to choosing a theme and making the first changes to your website. I explain everything in simple language so that you can understand how WordPress works, even if you have never used it before.

The text also includes my comparison of WordPress with other platforms (such as Google Sites, Carrd, Webflow, and Framer), as well as a roundup of the best free themes and plugins to get started. I also show you how to create your first backups, test themes, and build your website step by step in a safe and thoughtful way.

This guide will help you launch a website yourself and understand how it works from the ground up, without needing any programming knowledge.

Website Traffic Tracking, Google Site Kit and Independent Analytics

The primary plugin is Google Site Kit. After installing this plugin, it must be connected to a Google account.

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If, for some reason, we have trouble connecting a Google tool, a useful plugin is “Independent Analytics.”

. When adding plugins, it is a good idea to pay attention to the number of downloads. Less popular plugins should be verified more carefully, as they may damage our website.

Adding and Editing Articles in WordPress

Adding articles in WordPress is quite straightforward: after logging in, go to the Posts tab, select Add New, enter the title and paste in the text, then publish the article using the button in the top-right corner, and that’s it. The article is now published on the website. However, if you want it to look better and improve the website’s visibility, you need to take a few important steps.

The content should be organized by adding H2 and H3 headings, a table of contents, then adding images with alt text, setting a featured image, category, and tags. Finally, we check the preview, refine the details in the SEO panel, and publish. I explain the entire process—from the first paragraph to post optimization—in greater detail in this article.

Website Backups: What to Do If We Break Something?

Did you create a website, decide to change something, and then everything broke? In many cases, a WordPress website can be easily repaired. It’s also a good idea to take precautions in advance.

Page (or post) versions

After clicking on the page settings, we gain access to the version history in the sidebar,

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By default, subpage versions are displayed as code, so it is not clear which version is the latest working one. If there are not many versions, the working subpage can be easily restored. The number of the last good version can also be recorded somewhere. There are various ways to make browsing versions easier, but this is not something for beginner WordPress users.

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If we accidentally restore the site to a non-functional version, we don’t need to worry that newer versions have been deleted.

Example:

  • you are working on version 10,
  • you accidentally restore version 5,
  • WordPress saves it as version 11,
  • you can later open the history and click “Restore” next to version 10 again, restoring it as version 12.

Here are the simplest ways to back up your WordPress site before something goes wrong. If you’re just getting started, you don’t need any technical knowledge—just follow a few simple steps.

Backup on hosting

Generally, the hosting provider creates backup versions of the website. This allows us to restore the website to a version from up to seven days ago. Therefore, if we break something, we need to react fairly quickly, because the faulty version may overwrite older, working versions. It is also possible to set up additional copies, but this is not very easy, especially for beginner WordPress users.

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Take screenshots of your page

The simplest method you can use right away. Open each subpage and take a screenshot (e.g., using the shortcut

Ctrl + Shift + S

in Edge or the Snipping Tool in Windows). You can save the screenshots in one folder or paste them into Canva (a whiteboard file) to get a visual preview of the entire page. This way, you’ll be able to recreate the page more quickly if everything goes wrong. Such a site map is useful not only as a backup—it’s also a convenient tool that makes it easier to design the page, report corrections, etc.

Save texts from WordPress

Copy the content from the most important pages and posts into a Word document, Google Docs, or Notion. This way, if something breaks, you can recover the text without logging in to the WordPress dashboard.

Save the photos used on the website

Go to the Media Library in WordPress and download the images one by one (or use the Export Media Library plugin, which will do it automatically). Keep all graphics in a separate folder – this will make it easier to restore the website if necessary.

Submit a page to the Wayback Machine

Go to archive.org/web and paste your website’s address. The service will save a copy of it in the Internet Archive. It is not a technical backup, but it often proves invaluable if your website disappears.

Set up a simple backup using a plugin

The easiest solution is WPvivid Backup – a free plugin that you can install in just a few minutes. After installation, click Backup Now, select “the entire site,” and save the backup to the cloud (e.g. Google Drive or Dropbox). You can also set a schedule, such as an automatic backup once a week at night.

Make a Copy of Blog Posts

Go to Tools → Export and select “Posts.” WordPress will save an XML file containing your articles, which you can later import into the new site.

Store Copies in Two Locations

Don’t keep your backup only on the same server. One copy should be local (e.g., on an external drive), and the other in the cloud.

That’s all. In just a few minutes, you can protect your website against data loss without any knowledge of FTP or databases.

If you want more detailed instructions (including how to manually back up and restore the website), read the full article:

Alternatives to WordPress, and how to design a website.

WordPress can be too overwhelming for many people at first. It is therefore worth designing the website outside of WordPress. Canva is useful for this, as it allows you to easily create a simple content layout design for the website. When creating such a content design, you need to bear in mind that not everything you create in Canva can be easily implemented in WordPress. Therefore, it is not worth creating a perfect, visually polished design. It is much better to make a simple sketch based on: image + text. With a basic knowledge of WordPress, you can then create a graphic design in Canva more effectively. So, the best process for creating your first website looks more or less like this:

  • Initial design in Canva
  • Website editing in WordPress
  • Improving the design in Canva
  • Improving WordPress

Alternatives to WordPress

If you want to create a clickable website accessible from any device, Google Sites is the best solution. Anyone with a Gmail account can access these sites through Google Drive.

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Editing such a page is much simpler than editing WordPress; this way, we can create an initial design for our website.

By default, the domain starts with sites.google.com:

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However, if we have purchased a domain, we can connect it to our website.

A major advantage is the convenient creation of subpages, as we edit the page content and create the menu in the same place. The drawback is the lack of a blog.

If you want a better domain without paying a penny, I encourage you to check out this article, in which I describe systems such as carrd.co, Gamma app, Wix, Webflow, Framer, and Odoo.

Summary

WordPress is an extensive system that can seem discouraging at first glance. However, understanding a few key principles allows you to quickly move from a blank page to a fully functional website. The most important thing is to know that WordPress is installed through your hosting provider, not via wordpress.com. After installation, it is worth choosing a theme with starter templates (e.g., Astra, Kadence, Kubio), so you can avoid the impression of a “blank page.” Next, configure the homepage in the Appearance → Customize → Homepage Settings section, and also make sure that new subpages are visible in the menu.

It is worth remembering that a WordPress menu can have different levels and appear in several places (e.g., in the footer). For beginners, it is best to focus on one main menu. When it comes to editing content, the default Gutenberg editor can be limiting, which is why many users choose solutions based on it, such as Kadence Blocks or Spectra.

WordPress has its limitations and a history that explains certain unintuitive elements. However, thanks to modern themes and simple plugins, you can now build a website without any coding knowledge. The most important thing is not to be discouraged by the initial chaos and to understand that every blank page is merely a starting point for creating something of your own.