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Complete Getting Started & Best Practices Documentation

Introduction

You’ve just purchased WordPress hosting on ASCS Cloud — now what?

WordPress is powerful, flexible, and industry-standard, but it isn’t always as simple as a drag-and-drop website builder. Like any professional platform, there are best practices that dramatically improve reliability, performance, security, and long-term success.

This documentation is written specifically for ASCS Cloud customers. It walks you from zero to a fully operational website, explains why certain choices matter, and outlines the recommended configurations we use internally when deploying client sites.

This guide is beginner-friendly, but solid enough that you won’t outgrow it.

What This Guide Covers

  • Domains & DNS basics
  • WordPress dashboard orientation
  • Building pages with the Block Editor (recommended)
  • Themes & layout strategy
  • Plugins (what you need vs what you don’t)
  • WooCommerce basics (selling online)
  • Publishing workflows
  • Updates, backups, and maintenance
  • Common beginner mistakes to avoid
  • How ASCS Cloud fits into the picture

Prerequisites & Considerations

Understanding Domains

Before you start designing pages, it’s important to understand domains.

A domain is your website’s address on the internet.

Examples:

  • www.yoursite.com
  • yourbusiness.ca
  • shop.yoursite.com

Your domain affects:

  • Branding & trust
  • SEO (search engine visibility)
  • Memorability

Domain Tips for Beginners

  • Keep it short and simple
  • Use keywords related to your business when possible
  • Avoid numbers, underscores, or confusing hyphens
  • Prefer .com or .ca when targeting Canada

Having your domain sorted out first makes publishing, sharing, and marketing your site far easier from day one.

Connecting a Domain to ASCS Cloud

Different WordPress hosts handle domains differently.

To associate a domain with your ASCS Cloud WordPress hosting, please email:

[email protected]

Include:

  • Your domain name
  • Whether it is registered elsewhere or with ASCS

⚠️ We are actively working on automating domain + hosting provisioning. Until then, domain connections are handled manually to ensure correctness.

Understanding the WordPress Dashboard

Once logged in, your WordPress dashboard is your control panel.

Key areas you’ll use often:

  • Pages – Static pages (Home, About, Services, Contact)
  • Posts – Blog articles and news updates
  • Appearance – Themes, menus, site styling
  • Plugins – Add features and functionality
  • Settings – Site-wide configuration

Tip: Pages build your website structure. Posts fuel SEO and content marketing.

Recommended for Beginners: The Block Editor Method

Why ASCS Cloud Recommends the Block Editor

The WordPress Block Editor (Gutenberg) is:

  • Built into WordPress (no dependency lock-in)
  • Fast and lightweight
  • Mobile-responsive by default
  • Future-proof

For most business websites, the Block Editor is more than sufficient and avoids unnecessary complexity.

Building Your First Page

Step 1: Create a New Page

  1. Log in to your WordPress dashboard
  2. Go to Pages → Add New
  3. Enter a title for your page (e.g., Home, About Us)

Titles matter for:

  • Navigation menus
  • SEO
  • Browser tabs

Step 2: Adding Blocks

WordPress pages are built from blocks.

To add a block:

  • Click the + (Add Block) icon
  • Choose a block type

Common blocks:

  • Paragraph (text)
  • Heading
  • Image
  • Gallery
  • Buttons
  • Columns
  • Cover

You can:

  • Drag blocks to reorder them
  • Nest blocks inside columns or groups

Step 3: Customizing Blocks

Each block has its own settings.

Using the right sidebar you can:

  • Change text size and colors
  • Adjust spacing and alignment
  • Set background colors
  • Control mobile responsiveness

Always:

  • Preview before publishing
  • Check both desktop and mobile views

Mastering blocks gives you clean layouts without touching code.

Themes: Choosing the Right Foundation

Your theme controls your site’s overall design.

ASCS Cloud Theme Recommendations

For beginners:

  • Block-based themes (Full Site Editing)
  • Lightweight themes
  • Minimal design

Examples:

  • Twenty Twenty-Four
  • GeneratePress
  • Astra (light usage)

Avoid:

  • Overloaded multipurpose themes
  • Themes requiring many bundled plugins

A clean theme + good content beats flashy design every time.

Plugins: Power Without Bloat

Plugins extend WordPress — but too many plugins cause problems.

Essential Beginner Plugins

  • Yoast SEO – Search engine optimization
  • WPForms – Contact forms
  • UpdraftPlus – Backups
  • Wordfence or Solid Security – Security

Optional:

  • Elementor – Visual builder (only if needed)

Installing Plugins

  1. Go to Plugins → Add New
  2. Search for the plugin
  3. Click Install → Activate

Install plugins intentionally. Every plugin is code running on your server.

WooCommerce: Selling Online

WooCommerce turns WordPress into an e-commerce platform.

What WooCommerce Can Do

  • Physical & digital products
  • Subscriptions
  • Payments via Stripe
  • Tax & shipping rules

Getting Started

  1. Install WooCommerce from Plugins
  2. Follow the setup wizard
  3. Configure:
    • Store currency
    • Payment methods
    • Shipping
    • Taxes

Adding Products

Each product includes:

  • Title
  • Description
  • Price
  • Images
  • Categories

Keep products simple at first. Complexity can come later.

Publishing Your Site

When a page is ready:

  • Click Publish
  • Add it to your navigation menu
  • Test links and buttons

Navigation Menus

Go to:
Appearance → Menus

Create:

  • Primary menu
  • Footer menu

Good menus improve:

  • Usability
  • SEO
  • Conversion rates

Maintenance & Best Practices

A website is not a “set it and forget it” asset.

Regular Tasks

  • Update WordPress core
  • Update themes & plugins
  • Monitor backups
  • Review security alerts

Performance Tips

  • Use optimized images
  • Avoid excessive plugins
  • Keep themes lightweight

Security Basics

  • Strong passwords
  • Admin accounts only when needed
  • Regular backups

Common Beginner Mistakes

Avoid these:

  • Installing too many plugins
  • Ignoring updates
  • Using page builders unnecessarily
  • Publishing without mobile testing
  • No backups

How ASCS Cloud Helps

ASCS Cloud provides:

  • Optimized WordPress hosting
  • Secure server configurations
  • Manual support during early automation
  • Canadian-hosted infrastructure

If you get stuck, need changes, or want advice:

📧 [email protected]

Final Thoughts

WordPress rewards patience and consistency.

If you:

  • Start simple
  • Follow best practices
  • Focus on content and clarity

You’ll end up with a website that performs, ranks, and scales.

Welcome to ASCS Cloud.

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