Steve

Founder and editor, website developer

Steve

Steve has been building websites for more than 20 years. He created WordPressThemes.uk and its theme builder, and writes and checks every guide on the site.

Steve is a website developer with more than 20 years' experience of building and looking after websites. He started WordPressThemes.uk to give site owners two things that are hard to find in one place: a simple way to design a WordPress theme of their own, and honest, plain-English guides to running a WordPress site well.

The guides on this site are written from hands-on experience and checked against the official WordPress documentation, which is listed at the end of every guide so you can read it yourself. Each guide shows when it was last updated and when its facts were last checked.

Spotted a mistake, or something that's changed in a new version of WordPress? Let us know and we'll put it right. Read more about how we research and check our guides.

Guides by Steve

Install a theme from a .zipUpload a theme .zip in a couple of minutes, install it by FTP if the upload fails, and fix the errors that… Start a WordPress websiteSeven steps from no website to a live WordPress site: a domain, hosting, installing WordPress, choosing a… Update plugins safelyA safe routine for plugin updates, when to turn on auto-updates, and exactly what to do if an update breaks… Block vs classic themesBlock themes are edited visually in the Site Editor; classic themes use PHP templates and the Customizer… Update a themeWhich customisations survive a theme update and which don't, plus three ways to update a theme safely. Back up WordPressA WordPress backup has two parts: the files and the database. Here is how to back up both, how often, where… Fix common errorsPlain-English fixes for the critical error message, the white screen, 500 errors, database connection errors… Make your own themeThree routes to a theme of your own: an online theme builder, designing in the Site Editor and exporting, or… Security basicsTen practical steps, drawn from WordPress's own hardening guide, that protect most sites from most problems. Update WordPressMinor and security releases install themselves; major releases need one click. Here is how to update… Choosing WordPress hostingWhat WordPress needs from a host, the main types of hosting, and the questions to ask before you pay. WordPress.com vs WordPress.orgWordPress.org is free software you install on your own hosting. WordPress.com is a commercial service that… Settings after installingTen settings that are quick to change on a new WordPress site, and fiddly to fix once it is live. Inside a block themeA tour of the files in a block theme: which two are required, what theme.json does, and how templates, parts… Child themes explainedA child theme keeps your code changes safe when the parent theme updates. Here is how they work, when you… Maintenance checklistThe weekly, monthly, quarterly and yearly jobs that keep a WordPress site secure, quick and backed up, in one… Speed up WordPressEight practical fixes for a slow WordPress site, in the order that usually gives the biggest gain for the… SEO basicsWhat Google itself says matters for search, what WordPress already does for you, and the settings and habits…

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