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- What Is WordPress? A Plain-English Introduction
From the lesson
“Welcome to the course. Before we touch a single button, let's answer a simple question in plain language: what exactly is WordPress, and why do so many people build their websites with it? So let's start with the heart of it: what WordPress actually is. WordPress is free software that lets you build and run a website just by pointing and clicking. You do not need to write any code.” Watch the full lesson →
- How to Log Into WordPress and Reset a Forgotten Password
From the lesson
“Welcome to your WordPress training. Before you can change anything on your website, you need to get through one door: the login screen. In this lesson you'll learn where the login page lives, and what every field on it does. You'll see what the Remember Me checkbox really means for how long you stay signed in. And you'll know exactly what to do the day a password slips your mind.” Watch the full lesson →
- A Tour of the WordPress Dashboard and Admin Toolbar
From the lesson
“When you log in to WordPress, you land in the dashboard — the control room for your whole website. Here's what we'll explore. You'll tour the toolbar across the top — your quick-access strip for the most common jobs. Then you'll meet the widgets in the middle of the screen. They show your whole site at a glance.” Watch the full lesson →
- Understanding the WordPress Admin Sidebar Menu
From the lesson
“Every job you'll ever do in WordPress starts from the same place: the menu running down the left side of the screen. In this lesson you'll learn what every item on that menu is for, in one plain sentence each. You'll see the difference between hovering over an item and clicking it. And you'll understand why your menu might not look exactly like anyone else's.” Watch the full lesson →
- Edit Your WordPress User Profile and Display Name
From the lesson
“WordPress keeps a personal settings page for every user, called your profile. Here's what it lets you control. In this lesson you'll personalize how the dashboard looks, starting with its color scheme. You'll choose the name readers see on your posts — and why it shouldn't be your login name. And you'll find the safety tools — where passwords change and how to sign out a forgotten device.” Watch the full lesson →
- Use the WordPress Command Palette to Jump Between Screens
From the lesson
“You've learned to move around WordPress with the sidebar menu, and new in WordPress 7 there's an even faster way: the command palette. It works on every admin screen, so you never have to hunt through menus first. You just type where you want to go and press Enter. And you can open it from the keyboard, or by clicking it in the toolbar.” Watch the full lesson →
- Set Your WordPress Site Title, Tagline, and Timezone
From the lesson
“The General Settings screen is where your website introduces itself to the world, so it's the first place worth tidying up. The Site Title and Tagline are the name and short description people see everywhere. The Site Icon is the small picture that sits in the browser tab. Two address fields tell WordPress where your site lives, and they're best left alone.” Watch the full lesson →
- Set Your WordPress Homepage and Blog Page Settings
From the lesson
“Let's look at the Writing and Reading settings, the two screens that decide how your site publishes and what people see first. The Writing screen decides what a brand-new post looks like before you touch it. The Reading screen controls what visitors see first, and how your content flows out to feeds. One option here decides whether your front page is a stream of posts or a fixed welcome page.” Watch the full lesson →
- Control Comments and Stop Spam in WordPress
From the lesson
“One screen governs every comment on your site. It decides whether visitors can comment on your new posts at all. What people must provide before they're allowed to comment. How comments are checked and approved before going public. Getting this one right saves you from a flood of spam later. And the little avatar pictures shown beside each commenter. Here's the plan.” Watch the full lesson →
- Set Up Image Sizes and Readable Permalinks in WordPress
From the lesson
“Two small settings screens have a big effect: Media decides how your pictures are stored, and Permalinks decides what your web addresses look like. WordPress quietly saves several sizes of every picture you upload, so the right one shows in the right place. It can also sort your uploaded files into neat folders by month and year.” Watch the full lesson →
- Create a Privacy Policy Page and Check Site Health
From the lesson
“Every website collects some visitor information, so most places expect you to post a privacy policy. WordPress also watches its own wellbeing through a tool called Site Health. In this lesson we'll set up a privacy policy page and learn to read the health report. WordPress can draft a starter privacy policy so you're not staring at a blank page.” Watch the full lesson →
- Posts vs Pages: Which One to Use in WordPress
From the lesson
“Before you write a single word in WordPress, you face one small choice: is this a post, or a page? Let's clear up the difference once and for all. WordPress gives you two kinds of content, and they play very different roles. A post is like an article in a magazine.” Watch the full lesson →
- Manage Your WordPress Posts List: Edit, Search, and Restore
From the lesson
“The Posts list gathers every post you've written into one table. Six columns tell you the essentials about each post: its title, author, categories, tags, comments, and date of publication. Hovering a row reveals links to edit, quick-edit, trash, or view that post. A search box and filters find any post fast. Bulk actions change many posts in one move. And the Trash keeps deleted posts until you're sure.” Watch the full lesson →
- Blocks Explained: How the WordPress Block Editor Works
From the lesson
“Before we open the editor, let's learn the single idea that makes everything else easy: thinking in blocks. Here's the whole idea. Everything you put on a page is a block. A paragraph of text is a block. A picture you add is its own block, too. A heading, a button, or a list is each its own block too.” Watch the full lesson →
- How to Write and Publish Your First WordPress Post
From the lesson
“A post is a dated piece of writing that appears in your blog feed, newest first. You'll give the post a clear title readers will recognize. You'll build real content — text, a photo, a two-column layout, and a button. And you'll save a private draft. Then you'll publish it, and view it on your site. Here's the path from blank editor to live post.” Watch the full lesson →
- Set a Featured Image and Schedule a WordPress Post
From the lesson
“You've learned to write with blocks. Every post also carries a set of settings — not what it says, but how it behaves — and they all live in one panel beside the editor. There's the settings sidebar, which you open and close from the top bar. It holds the post's status and when it goes live. And the featured image, the excerpt, the web address, and the post format.” Watch the full lesson →
- Add Text, Headings, Lists, Quotes and Tables in WordPress
From the lesson
“WordPress builds pages out of blocks, and for everyday writing you only need a few. These same five do about ninety percent of the work. The paragraph is your workhorse. Most of a post is plain sentences, and they go in paragraphs. Headings split a long page into clear, scannable sections. Lists turn a jumble of points into tidy bullets or numbered steps.” Watch the full lesson →
- Use the WordPress Block Toolbar to Edit Text Blocks
From the lesson
“Every time you click a block, a small toolbar appears floating just above it. That's the block toolbar, and it's the fastest way to do almost everything you do to a block. It appears the moment you select a block, and follows whichever block you work on. It carries the everyday controls — moving the block, formatting text, even changing the block into a different kind.” Watch the full lesson →
- Add Images, Galleries, Cover Banners and Videos in WordPress
From the lesson
“Text alone can feel flat. In this lesson, we meet the four media blocks. Each one helps turn a plain post into something people want to look at. And we'll add every one of them to a real draft. And all four live together in the Media section of the block inserter. The Image block places a single photo, with room for a caption and a written description.” Watch the full lesson →
- Put Content Side by Side with Columns, Groups and Buttons
From the lesson
“So far, most of the blocks you've met hold content: words, images, and headings. Design blocks are different. They don't carry your message themselves, they arrange the blocks that do, so your page stops being one long column and starts looking designed. Columns let you place blocks side by side, instead of stacking everything in one tall column.” Watch the full lesson →
- Add Search, Social Icons, Recent Posts and Custom Code Blocks
From the lesson
“Older WordPress sites used sidebar widgets for things like a search box or a list of recent posts. Those same helpers now sit inside the editor as widget blocks, and they pull in content from your site automatically. Unlike a paragraph you type once, a widget block updates itself as your site changes. Anyone who has used WordPress before will recognise them straight away.” Watch the full lesson →
- Show Your Site Title and a Dynamic Post List in WordPress
From the lesson
“Most blocks hold content you type in. Theme blocks are different — they pull in information your site already knows, like its name or a list of your latest posts.” Watch the full lesson →
- Embed Videos and Use the Media Library in WordPress
From the lesson
“Words are only half of a great post — images and video bring it to life. This lesson shows four easy ways to add rich media to a post. Paste a video's web address and WordPress builds a player for you. The Media Library keeps every image you've added in one handy place. The Media and Text block creates a neat two-column layout.” Watch the full lesson →
- Organize Posts with Categories and Tags in WordPress
From the lesson
“Once you have more than a handful of posts, readers need a way to find related ones. WordPress gives you two tools for that: categories and tags. Categories are the big, broad topics your site is about, like Recipes or Travel. They can even nest inside each other, so Desserts can live under Recipes. Tags are the small, specific details, like quick-meals or vegan, and they never nest.” Watch the full lesson →
- Create Pages and Child Pages in WordPress
From the lesson
“Posts are your timeline; pages are the permanent rooms of your site. Think of your About page or your Contact page: they rarely change and they don't belong to any date. Pages are perfect for the information people always want, like who you are and how to reach you. Unlike posts, pages don't use categories or tags, because they're not part of a topic stream.” Watch the full lesson →
- Undo Edits and Restore Old Versions of a Post in WordPress
From the lesson
“Everyone eventually deletes a paragraph they wish they hadn't. The good news is that WordPress keeps a running history of your work, so you can always step back in time. Each time you save, WordPress files away a permanent snapshot of your post. That snapshot is called a revision. In between, an autosave quietly protects the changes you haven't saved yet.” Watch the full lesson →
- Trash, Restore, and Permanently Delete Posts in WordPress
From the lesson
“Sooner or later every site collects content that has to go. WordPress makes deleting hard to get wrong, because almost nothing disappears right away. When you trash a post, it leaves your site but waits in a holding area. Anything in there can be restored with a single click. Only Delete Permanently and Empty Trash remove content forever. And after thirty days, WordPress quietly empties the Trash on its own.” Watch the full lesson →
- Reuse Block Layouts with Patterns and Synced Patterns
From the lesson
“A pattern is a ready-made block layout you can drop into any page or post instead of building it by hand. You'll find them in the inserter's Patterns tab, sorted into handy categories. And here's the best part: edit a synced pattern once, and every copy updates together. Insert a whole layout in one click, then make it your own. Unsynced patterns are starting points you can change freely.” Watch the full lesson →
- New Blocks in WordPress 7: Icons, Breadcrumbs, Grid
From the lesson
“You've met the everyday blocks; WordPress 7 added a few newcomers that used to require plugins, and this lesson puts the most useful ones on the page. The Icon block gives you a searchable library of ready-made icons. The Breadcrumbs block builds a navigation trail with no plugin required. Headings got smarter too, switching levels without transforming the block.” Watch the full lesson →
- Media Library Tour: Upload Files and Find Them Again
From the lesson
“The Media Library is one shared shelf that holds every file you add to your site, so you can reuse them anywhere without uploading twice. Grid view lays your files out as thumbnails, which is lovely for finding a picture at a glance. List view shows a tidy table with dates and details, handy when you have hundreds of files.” Watch the full lesson →
- Crop, Rotate, and Resize Images in the WordPress Media Library
From the lesson
“Before we touch a single button, let's cover the habits that keep a media library fast and healthy. Shrink big photos on your computer first, so they load quickly for your visitors. A name like autumn-garden beats a long string of numbers straight from your camera. Alt text is a short description that screen readers and search engines rely on.” Watch the full lesson →
- Approve, Reply to, and Filter Comments in WordPress
From the lesson
“Every published site attracts comments, and this lesson shows you how to stay on top of them. You decide which comments the public sees. Answer people right from the admin. Two tidy places for comments you don't want. A plugin that ships with WordPress can catch junk automatically. Two places hold comments you don't want, and they work differently, so here's the quick version before we dive in.” Watch the full lesson →
- Understanding WordPress Themes and How to Switch Them
From the lesson
“Think of a theme as your site's outfit — it controls how everything looks, not what it says. And remember, you can always switch back. Nothing is lost. A theme decides your colours, fonts, and the overall layout of every page. Switching themes changes the look, but your posts and pages stay exactly where they are.” Watch the full lesson →
- Change Site Colors, Fonts and Title in WordPress
From the lesson
“Before we open the screen, here's the big picture. Block themes like the one this site uses let you design your whole site visually in one place called the Site Editor, and this lesson shows you around it. The Site Editor is where you shape how your entire site looks. Global Styles apply your colors and fonts across every page at once.” Watch the full lesson →
- Edit WordPress Navigation Menus and Submenus
From the lesson
“Almost every website has a row of links along the top, like Home, About, and Contact. That row is called a navigation menu. It's how visitors find their way around, so it's worth getting right.” Watch the full lesson →
- Edit WordPress Page Templates and Layouts Site-Wide
From the lesson
“This is one of the most important ideas in modern WordPress. Every post and page you write is just content — a template decides how that content is presented. For this lesson we're using Ollie, a free block theme that makes templates unusually easy to understand. A template is a reusable layout. You design it once, and every page that uses it follows along.” Watch the full lesson →
- Edit Your WordPress Header and Footer Once for All Pages
From the lesson
“Last lesson we edited a template. But some pieces — the header, the footer — appear in every template. Those shared pieces are called template parts, and they're the reason your site feels consistent. A template part is a shared piece of design that templates include, headers and footers are the classic examples, and when you edit a part once, every template that includes it changes along with it.” Watch the full lesson →
- Build a Full WordPress Page with Ready-Made Layouts
From the lesson
“Everything so far has led here. Ollie ships seven complete page layouts — a homepage, an about page, pricing, features, and more — built entirely from blocks. We'll drop one into a brand-new page and make it ours.” Watch the full lesson →
- What WordPress Plugins Are and How to Turn Them On or Off
From the lesson
“A plugin is a small piece of software that gives your website new powers, without you writing a single line of code — and at the time of this recording, there are nearly sixty thousand free ones in the official WordPress directory. One plugin can add a contact form so visitors reach you. Another improves how search engines like Google find your pages.” Watch the full lesson →
- How Many Plugins Should a WordPress Site Have
From the lesson
“Plugins add features to WordPress, but more isn't always better. A few simple habits keep your site fast, secure, and easy to look after over the long run. Choose a few well-maintained plugins instead of many you barely use. If a plugin is deactivated and you no longer need it, delete it. Avoid running two plugins that do the same job — they can clash.” Watch the full lesson →
- Find and Explore Settings for a New WordPress Plugin
From the lesson
“Every plugin you add drops new controls somewhere in your dashboard. There's a reliable way to find them, no matter which plugin it is. First, scan your menus for anything new. Then, open its settings page, and see what the plugin needs before it can do its job. Check its help or documentation links for guidance. Finally, try the feature yourself before relying on it.” Watch the full lesson →
- WordPress User Roles Explained: What Each Role Can Do
From the lesson
“Before we open the Users screen, let's understand roles. This is one of the most important ideas for keeping your WordPress site safe and tidy. Here's a simple way to think about it. A role is a lot like a job title, but for your site. It decides what a person is allowed to do the very moment they log in — nothing more, nothing less.” Watch the full lesson →
- Change WordPress User Roles and Permissions
From the lesson
“Last lesson covered what each role can do. This one is pure practice: where users live, how to read their roles at a glance, and how to change one — guided by a single rule: give people the lowest role that lets them do their job.” Watch the full lesson →
- Add, Edit, and Remove WordPress Users Safely
From the lesson
“Most websites are run by more than one person, and each person should only be able to do the parts of the job that belong to them. In this lesson we add a new team member, adjust roles one at a time and in bulk, and safely remove someone who has moved on. And one golden rule: when you remove someone, hand their content to another user first.” Watch the full lesson →
- Export and Import WordPress Content for a Backup or Move
From the lesson
“Under the Tools menu, WordPress gives you simple ways to move your content between sites and to handle personal data. Let's see what each one is really for. Export gathers your writing into one downloadable file — your content only, not a full backup of your whole site. Import reads that same file into another site.” Watch the full lesson →
- Keep WordPress Updated and Backed Up
From the lesson
“Keeping WordPress current is the single best thing you can do for your site's safety and speed. In this lesson we'll look at where to find updates, how to let trusted ones happen on their own, and why a backup always comes first. WordPress gathers all your pending updates onto a single screen so nothing slips past you. You can let minor updates apply themselves, saving you from constant check-ins.” Watch the full lesson →
- WordPress Security Basics: Users, Passwords and Site Health
From the lesson
“Security isn't one big switch you flip once. It's a short routine you check now and then, and today we'll walk that routine together across the screens you already know. Fewer accounts and fewer plugins mean fewer doors an attacker can try. Most break-ins target old software, so staying current is your strongest shield. A long, random password on your admin account stops the most common attacks cold.” Watch the full lesson →
- Speed Up Your WordPress Site: Images, Plugins, and Caching
From the lesson
“A fast website keeps people around. Visitors leave pages that take too long to load, and search engines like Google quietly favour sites that respond quickly. The good news is that several of the biggest speed wins are things you can handle yourself, right from inside WordPress. Slow pages lose visitors before they ever read a word. Search engines rank fast, responsive sites higher.” Watch the full lesson →
- Block Editor Tips: Shortcuts, Views, and Pasting Text
From the lesson
“Once you're comfortable writing posts, the editor hides a whole layer of power features that make you faster. In this lesson we'll explore the view modes, the keyboard shortcuts, the code editor, the preferences panel, and smarter ways to select and move your content. View modes like Spotlight and Distraction Free change how the editor looks while you write. Keyboard shortcuts handle saving, undoing, and moving blocks without the mouse.” Watch the full lesson →
- Manage Many WordPress Posts at Once: Bulk Edit and Quick Edit
From the lesson
“When your site has more than a handful of posts, editing them one by one gets slow. WordPress gives you tools to change lots of posts together, edit small details without opening the full editor, and find any post in seconds. Bulk Actions lets you tag or update several posts together in a single move. Quick Edit changes small things like the web address or date right from the list.” Watch the full lesson →
- Build a Homepage Layout and Set It as Your Front Page
From the lesson
“This is where everything comes together. You'll build a proper welcome page from blocks you already know. Then you'll make it your site's front door. Better still, every piece here is a block you've already learned to use. A heading and a line of text greet every visitor. A quote block makes a friendly testimonial. A button gives people a clear next step.” Watch the full lesson →
- Where to Go Next: Your WordPress Course Recap and Next Steps
From the lesson
“You've reached the final lesson. Let's look back at everything you've learned, and then map out where you can go from here. When you started, wp-admin might have felt like a maze. Now it's a place you know your way around. Let's walk back through the whole journey. Here's the first half of what you covered. You logged in, found your way around, and made the dashboard feel like home.” Watch the full lesson →
Following along on your own site and stuck on something the video doesn't cover? Book a WordPress tutor — a live session on your own website, $85 an hour.
WordPress Fundamentals is a beginner video course that takes you from your first login to a working site you actually understand. Across short, guided lessons you'll see how the dashboard, core settings, and the block editor fit together, so nothing on the screen stays a mystery. By the end you'll be comfortable creating pages, posts, and layouts on your own.
What you'll learn
WordPress powers a huge share of the web, but most people learn it by clicking around and hoping for the best. This wordpress fundamentals training gives you the mental model instead: what each setting does, how content is really structured, and why the block editor behaves the way it does. You'll be able to configure a new site, publish and organize content, manage media and menus, and make sensible calls about themes, plugins, and users. That foundation makes every other WordPress task faster and far less intimidating.
Inside the course
- Module 1 · Getting Started: What Is WordPress? · Logging Into WordPress · Intro to the Dashboard · Understanding the Admin Sidebar Menu · Your User Profile · The Command Palette
- Module 2 · Configuring Your Site: General Settings · Writing and Reading Settings · Discussion Settings · Media and Permalink Settings · Privacy Settings and Site Health
- Module 3 · Content & the Block Editor: Posts vs Pages · The Posts List Screen · Thinking in Blocks · Creating Your First Post · Post Settings · Text Blocks · The Block Toolbar · Media Blocks: Images, Galleries, Cover, and Video · Design Blocks · Widget Blocks · Theme Blocks · Embeds and the Media Library Modal · Categories and Tags · Creating and Managing Pages · Revisions, Autosave, and Recovering Work · Trashing and Deleting Content · Patterns and Synced Patterns · New Blocks in WordPress 7
- Module 4 · Media: Media Library Tour and Uploading · Image Editing and Media Best Practices
- Module 5 · Comments & Community: Managing Comments
- Module 6 · Appearance & Themes: Understanding and Managing Themes · Site Identity and Global Styles · Navigation Menus · Templates with the Ollie Theme · Template Parts with the Ollie Theme · Build a Full Page with Ollie
- Module 7 · Plugins: Understanding and Installing Plugins · Plugin Management Best Practices · Learning a New Plugin
- Module 8 · Users & Roles: Understanding User Roles and Permissions · User Roles Explained · Adding and Managing Users
- Module 9 · Maintenance & Safety: Import, Export, and Site Data · Updates and Backups · Security Essentials · Performance Basics
- Module 10 · Going Further: Editor Power Techniques · Content Operations at Scale · Building a Real Page Layout · Where to Go Next
Who this course is for
This course is for complete beginners and for anyone who has used WordPress a little but never felt confident. No coding or prior experience is needed. If you'd rather read first, our free written tutorials cover much of the same ground, and live 1-on-1 Zoom training is available when you want personal help.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need any experience to take the WordPress Fundamentals course?
Does it cover the block editor?
The first lesson is free to watch with a free WP Tutoring account — no card. Every lesson is also free on YouTube, with captions and chapters.
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- Follow along on a clean WordPress install
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