When you’re first getting started on WordPress, you’ll find that there’s almost an unlimited amount to learn. You’ll figure out the basics of getting started; how to search for and utilize a template; and perhaps above all else, how to address common errors as you set about building and maintaining your WordPress site. What many who are experienced with WordPress will tell you, however, is that experience –– trial and error –– is ultimately more important than any one lesson or tutorial.
It has been estimated recently that WordPress.org powers some 43% of all websites that are currently active on the web. This is an astonishingly high percentage representing an almost unfathomable number of sites. One thing we can draw from the sheer scope of that number is that there are plenty of people building multiple sites on the platform. In many cases, this is simply to cover multiple interests or support a variety of business ventures. But for those who create multiple sites, there can also be an improvement from one to the next. The process of design yields insight and experience that no tutorial can fully deliver –– meaning that a second effort is often a better one.
With this in mind, we suggest that if you’re interested in developing an excellent website or taking your business online, you may want to create a sort of trial site first. This will give you experience that will be invaluable if and when you decide to develop a true passion project. And just for fun, we’ve suggested four types of sites that can be relatively straightforward to build, and which can help you get your first experience under your belt.

4 Ideas For A First WordPress Site:

Sports Blog

If you don’t have an interest in sports, you can of course move right along to our next suggestion. If you do like sports though –– or even if you’re just passionate about one team or league –– then this can be a very fun idea to get started with. A sports blog can be quite simple in appearance and features. Some of the best existing sports blogs, from The Athletic to Bleacher Report, are notably minimalistic in their approach, with the primary focus being on content. Take a look at some of these and you’ll realize that you can set up your own sports blog without having to mess with a great deal of clutter. Instead, you’ll have an opportunity to focus on the basics, and then get started posting fresh content, sharing your thoughts on the subject matter at hand, and potentially growing an audience.

Recommended templates: MagPlus, GoodLife, Flex Mag

E-commerce Site

An eCommerce site is a broad concept, yet also a somewhat more complex one. This can refer to any site you build to sell goods online. And naturally, building such a site makes for ideal practice if, in fact, you have your sights set on opening an online store one day. Even if you’re getting started with a partial inventory or something simple like a collection of homemade crafts, the process of organizing and making use of an eCommerce platform will benefit you tremendously. You’ll learn how to market items visually, how to make the buying process easy for visitors, and more.

Recommended templates: Ordo, Porto, Shopkeeper

Poker Site

Once upon a time, a poker site would have been a relatively “niche” idea. Now, however, it might just be a good way to catch a wave and build a trendy site. This is for the simple reason that more states are legalizing online poker, enabling more Americans to tap into a long-held interest. Indeed, with Connecticut becoming the seventh state to embrace legalization in 2021, many believe we’re headed back toward the days of the online poker “boom” of the early 2000s. This means that there is likely to be a consistent appetite for all things poker online –– including whatever you might choose to populate a site with. Even if you aren’t able to provide actual poker games, writing up pro poker news, app and website reviews, updates on legislation, etc., will make for a handy resource. It will also be an excellent way to gain experience running a site that needs to be updated and managed to keep up with real-time events.

Recommended templates: Online Poker Responsive, eCasino, MagPlus

Travel Site

Another fun idea that will yield useful experience is to set up a travel site. In some respects, this is a worthwhile idea for the same reason setting up a poker blog is. More people are feeling a sense of urgency to travel following the worst of the pandemic –– and many of those people are also “going big” and seeking out fascinating, far-flung destinations. This gives you an awesome opportunity to design a site that feeds into those interests, highlighting destinations and attractions all over the world. Another reason a travel site makes for good practice, however, is that it gives you the chance to build a site with strong visual elements. Now, we’ll note that it’s important to be vigilant in your adherence to photo licensing, fair use, and so on. Ultimately though, you’ll be able to find photos you can use, and work out how to craft much of the site’s content around them.

Recommended templates: CheerUp, Kallyas, Insight

In the end, the idea is simply to practice, and any sort of site that interests you will do. For the reasons expressed above though, these are four categories worth considering for a trial run on WordPress.