How to Set Up Your WordPress Website + Adding the Divi Theme

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You've decided to use WordPress + the Divi theme to build your business website and now you're asking, "How do I get started?" Follow these three simple steps to get your site up and ready to start building.

Skip to adding the Divi Theme to your website

Purchase Your Website Domain

Visit GoDaddy (or your preferred domain registrar) and type in the domain you'd like to purchase for your website to make sure it is available. Once you've found an available domain, add it to your cart and complete your purchase.

Set Up Website Hosting

Visit Flywheel (or your preferred WordPress host) and purchase a single site hosting plan. Most of the time if you pay annually it will be cheaper than if you pay monthly.

Point Your Domain (DNS) to Your Host

In this guide, I will be taking you through how to connect a GoDaddy domain with Flywheel hosting (if you are using a different domain registrar, click here for detailed instructions). If you are using a different host, please Google "how to connect [insert domain registrar] domain with [insert website host]" for detailed instructions.

For more detailed instructions on how to connect your GoDaddy domain with Flywheel, click here.

  1. Log into your Flywheel account
  2. Under the Overview tab click on the Add Domain button
  3. Enter your domain name and check the boxes that say "make [your domain] the primary domain" and "add [www.your domain or yourdomain.com]?"
  4. Click on the Log in to GoDaddy button which will direct you to your GoDaddy dashboard
  5. Once you've logged in, click Connect to connect your GoDaddy domain with your Flywheel account
  6. Click the Point www in GoDaddy button
  7. Click the Back to Site button which will take you to your Flywheel dashboard

You'll now want to Enable Simple SSL on your website which keeps the internet connection secure when people are on your site.

For more detailed instructions, click here.

  1. In the domains area hover over the three-dot menu to the right of the domain you want to add the SSL certificate to
  2. Click Add SSL Certificate
  3. Select all of your available domains
  4. Click Complete SSL Setup (it may take a few minutes to fully install)

Purchase and Upload the Divi Theme to Your WordPress Website

Purchase the Divi Theme

Purchase your license for the Divi Theme here.

Add the Divi Theme to Your WordPress Website

For more detailed instructions, click here and scroll down to Method Two.

  1. Log into your Divi Account
  2. Under the Themes & Plugins tab click on the Download the Divi Theme button to save the Divi Theme as a zip file on your computer
  3. Log into your WordPress Dashboard (you can access this from your Flywheel dashboard. Under the overview tab, click the WP-Admin button on the right side of the screen.)
  4. Along the WordPress sidebar menu, navigate to Appearance > Themes
  5. Click on the Add New button at the top of the screen
  6. Click the Upload Theme button at the top of the screen
  7. Click Choose File or drag and drop the zip file to upload the Divi Theme
  8. Click Install Now
  9. Now that it's installed, click Activate to activate the theme on the site

Activate Divi License

Now that Divi is installed on your site, you'll need to authenticate your membership to receive future Divi updates.

  1. Log into your Divi Account
  2. Navigate to Account > API Keys
  3. Click Generate New API Key
  4. Go to your WordPress dashboard and along the sidebar menu navigate to Divi > Theme Options
  5. Click on the Updates tab
  6. Enter your username and API key from your Divi account and click Save Changes

If you're setting up your website and are feeling overwhelmed, I'd love to take over and build a custom website for your business. Get in touch below to get started!