18+ Great Resources to Learn How to Use WordPress Like a Pro

WordPress is the content management of choice that many people use to build professional looking, highly customized blogs without having to spend years learning to code. WordPress is an open source platform which makes it easy for people at all skill levels to build a website from the ground up.

Here are 18 of the best websites that will help you learn how to use WordPress. There are both free and paid options represented on this list. also included a number of video-based suggestions for people who learn best visually, and even books for those of you who are more tactile learners.

1. Team Treehouse (Freemium)

Another subscription-based service that offers a free trial, Team Treehouse features access to over a thousand videos that focus on various topics, referred to as tracks. One of these tracks includes WordPress training. Pro members get access to workshops and interviews, and talks from industry professionals. With information broken down into small bites, the lessons are easily digestible. Each track features a list of courses. Once the courses in that track are complete, a user has all the information necessary to master that new skill. If you want to learn more about them you can read my Treehouse review.

2. Official WordPress Lessons (Free)

A good starting point for learning to use WordPress is to use the resources offered on the official site. These lessons go over all the basics, including picking a theme, customizing the site, creating pages and menus, making posts, using multimedia features to enhance a site, and even instructions on how to update a blog using a mobile device. This site also includes a page that explains a lot of the lingo associated with webpages and blogs so that even beginners can quickly dive into the world of blogging without feeling completely lost. All the content at the official site is free.

3. WordPress TV (Free)

WordPress TV offers visual learners comprehensive video lessons and tutorials that help both beginners and experienced WordPress users. It features videos that are relatively short. They address diverse topics that range from basic questions about site building to very specific questions relating to the use of WordPress features and addons. The site has lots of active users that are willing to offer help and advice related to questions about topics addressed in the videos. The site relies on videos made by actual users of WordPress, so anyone can submit a video (as long as it follows the submission guidelines) to have it reviewed for use on the site.

4. WPBeginner (Free)

WPBeginner is a free web-based resource that provides resources to help beginners improve their sites. It features tips and tricks, along with in-depth training and consulting. The site features a glossary of terms that are frequently confusing for new WordPress users. This makes understand all the site lingo much easier. The site blog provides lots of useful articles that relate to building a site, using all the features that are available, and dealing with problems that arise in the blogosphere. It also features plug-ins that are compatible with WordPress sites, and coupons that offer discounts on themes.

5. Hongkiat (Free)

Hongkiat.com is a site devoted to design technology, and it has an entire section dedicated to all things WordPress. There are lots of articles on the site that explain the basics of using WordPress, in addition to in-depth articles that teach users about things like utilizing specific functions of various editors, and creating customized short codes. This site is regularly updated with new ways to increase efficiency and proficiency with WordPress design. This is a good place for beginners to start learning the basics, or for experts to continue adding to their knowledge base.

6. Lynda.com (Paid)

Lynda.com offers online courses on thousands of various topics, and their courses include WordPress training. Members get access to all courses, and the site offers a free trial membership. WordPress Courses Range from beginner tutorials to intermediate and advanced classes. Subjects cover a large range of topics including web, development, design, business, marketing, and photography. Instructions are self paced, and website and video courses make learning interesting. A yearly premium subscription costs $375, a basic yearly subscription is $250, and monthly subscriptions are $25. Each video course features closed-captioning for the hearing impaired, and course files for those who prefer reading.

7. MakeaWebsitehub (Free)

I may be a little biased but over the past few years I have created lots of WordPress tutorials to help people get started with WordPress and even help more advanced users with projects too.

Here are a few of my personal favourites:

8. WordPress Codex (Free)

Hosted by wordpress.org, the WordPress codex is an authoritative resource for information and documentation regarding WordPress sites. It is an online manual that covers all the basic information that relates to creating wordpress sites. This free and very technical resource is invaluable for both beginning and experienced users. It includes information about downloading and installing WordPress, getting started, and upgrading to a newer version. It also provides the access to support forums, links to other useful resources, and troubleshooting. There are individual, detailed sections in the codex that are devoted to beginners, design, theme development, and site development.

9. WP101 (Paid)

As the name suggests, WP101 covers all the basics of using WordPress. It uses premium video tutorials, and touts itself as “the fastest way to learn WordPress.” The site promises that users will understand the basics in the first hour. It also offers personalized help, and answers to users’ questions. The video lessons can be watched using any device, and videos are recorded again each time WordPress releases an update so that content always stays current. The service does cost money, and users have the option of paying upfront or paying a monthly subscription fee.

10. WP Apprentice (Paid)

Like WP101, WP Apprentice is a WordPress helper that employs the use of videos to teach lessons on individual topics, and promises a basic understanding within an hour. The site features an in-depth training library that allows users to explore individual topics at their leisure, while offering basic overviews that help users get started quickly. Their goal is to help beginning users waste no time in getting a feature-filled WordPress site up and running. It clears up a lot of confusion beginners experience by offering simple, but detailed, explanations that make creating a new customized site easy.

11. Siteground (Free)

A sponsor of several open source communities, Siteground is a hosting company which is home to a quarter of a million domains worldwide. The site offers a free collections of in-depth tutorials that help users understand everything they need to know to create a new WordPress site from scratch. It also offers a large collection of free themes for WordPress designs. The company offers WordPress site hosting, and free theme installation, support, and automatic updates. Its tutorials include lessons about optimization, backing up a site, and other very useful lessons that will help make the most of WordPress.

12. The Tao of WordPress (Paid)

The Tao of WordPress is a complete, comprehensive, 300 page guide to using the open source platform. Covering topics like hosting and software in addition to WordPress itself, it helps users create exactly the website they want. With a clean layout, and text that is easy to read, The Tao of WordPress guides users through the entire process so that they can create beautiful sites in no time. The publisher also offers a book called “WordPress Themes in Depth” that provides 450 pages of tips, tricks, and practical advice for developing any theme.

13. iThemes (Paid)

iThemes is a great resource for learning about adding different themes to a WordPress site. Themes provide the basic foundation for how information is presented on a website. Some themes allow for complete customization, while being user-friendly for the most inexperienced site developers. iThemes offers plugins, themes, and training that removes the guesswork for new users. For less than $200, users gain access to 500 hours of WordPress video training. While this isn’t exactly cheap, a well-designed site can be worth its virtual weight in gold, so some users will gladly pay that much to learn how to effectively utilize all the features of a WordPress site.

14. Tuts Plus (Free & Paid)

This site features lots of video tutorials and more. Basic access costs $15 per month, and there are free tutorials, too. The site offers courses on all sorts of topics that, of course, include WordPress training. Some of the courses include topics related to basic theme development, and some cover more advanced topics like working with meta boxes and widgets. All their courses use best practices and standards so that students know they’re getting the highest quality training.

15. Smashing Magazine (Free)

Smashing Magazine is an excellent way to stay up-to-date on new additions to WordPress. The nature of open source technology is that it is constantly being changed and updated to reflect newer ways of doing things. This digital publication has an extended category that features an entire section of its site devoted to WordPress. It includes sections that cover essentials, techniques, plugins, and themes. The focus is on creating clean, smart, and fast websites for intermediate level WordPress users.

16. WPHub

WPHub is a place to get beautiful WordPress themes, and features a WordPress 101 section that explains the basics of creating a site using the platform. Though the site is focused mainly on site themes and custom hosting, it also offers lots of help through its custom services options. Users who want some help creating their site will love the interactive way WPHub allows users to get assistance with anything related to WordPress – including personalized training. This is a great resource for people who prefer having someone walk them through learning.

17. WP Square

With themes, plugins, and tutorials, WP Square is another good resource for learning how to use WordPress. The site features page after page of tutorials that provide detailed instructions for performing all sorts of basic tasks: adding custom backgrounds, displaying social icons, adding fonts, and lots more. There is a selection of free themes on the site. This site also sells custom themes, and for beginners, buying or using a free theme is often a more realistic option than developing one on their own.

18. Udemy

Udemy is an online learning academy that offers over fifty free WordPress courses, and hundreds of others that only have to be purchased once, as opposed to requiring a subscription for ongoing access. In addition to thousands of other classes, it offers hundreds of WordPress courses on various related topics. Many of these come with quizzes to test learning. Courses range in difficulty from beginning level to intermediate and advanced. These classes provide detailed instructions that become a part of the student’s permanent digital library, so they can be used for reference again and again.

Learning WordPress is a rewarding time investment that makes it easy to create websites and blogs to serve any purpose or function. For many business websites, blogs, digital stores and online shops, a WordPress site is the driving force for a strong web presence.

With constantly expanding technology, learning how to use this open source platform means having foundational skills that will be relevant for as long as people use WordPress to build their sites. Whether by web tutorials, by video, or by using textbooks, there are lots of different ways to learn how to use WordPress to create awesome sites.

If you are interested in learning WordPress then there is no better way than starting a blog or website of your own. I created a tutorial that will help you start a blog of your own for cheap, starting at only $2.95 per month (this low price is only through my link) for web hosting.

In addition to the low pricing, you will receive a free blog domain (a $15 value) through my Bluehost link if you purchase at least 12 months of blog hosting. FYI, you want to be self-hosted. This is essential if you want to monetize your blog as you will appear more professional and this will help you monetize your blog tremendously.