Do you frequently create new WordPress websites? Are you tired of installing the same plugins and themes every time you create a website? Do you find yourself configuring the same settings each time you start a new website?
If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions, you should make a blueprint website.
In this article, we will show you the best way to create a blueprint for your WordPress website, so you can get started on building sites with minimal effort.
Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned pro, these methods will help you create a boilerplate website that will save you hours in the future, allowing you to create functional, user-friendly, and visually appealing sites quicker than ever before. Let’s get started!
What is a Boilerplate Website
A WordPress boilerplate is a standardized framework or set of files that can be used as the starting point for building a new WordPress website. This can save you time and effort because you don’t have to start from scratch each time you create a new website.
As the boilerplate provides a basic set of features and functionality, you can focus on building the unique aspects of the theme rather than spending time on the basics – and you can be sure that the fundamental structure and features of the theme are well-designed and follow best practices.
How To Create A Boilerplate
Before you start creating a blueprint website, it’s important to think about your goals, and determine whether one blueprint will be sufficient, or if you will need multiple blueprints. If you only create one type of website, such as blogs, then one blueprint may be plenty. However, if you create a variety of website types, such as eCommerce and eLearning sites, then you will likely need to create a unique blueprint for each site type. This will ensure that your blueprint includes the right plugins and options for each category.
1. Create A New WordPress Site
Start by creating a new WordPress website from the InstaWP dashboard. If you don’t have an account yet, you can sign up for a free account and follow along.
2. Add Users
If you are working with a team, you can add more users to grant them access to this site and all the other sites that will be created from this template in the future.
Note: If you add a new account, it will have the same login credentials on all the websites made from this template.
3. Install Plugins
Any plugins installed on this site will be available on all future websites. Install all the plugins you want from the WordPress dashboard; you can also use Chrome extension for InstaWP, which makes it really easy to install plugins and themes on WordPress.
We recommend you remove any extensions you won’t use in order to speed up the installation process. If any of your plugins require custom settings, then you can configure these at this point. However, we recommend you avoid activating any plugins that require a login or API keys from a third-party service, as they usually require you to log in again on each new site.
4. Install Themes
Install a starter theme or framework on your boilerplate site. This will provide a solid foundation for your website and save you time by pre-defining common elements and styles. You can also include multiple customized headers, footers, and sections that you frequently use, as well as any custom CSS.
5. Add Content
Once your website is set up, you can start adding content, such as pages, posts, and media, to make it your own. You can also add custom fields and draft blog posts that include the general structure of your content.
Tip: You can use tools such as https://www.lipsum.com to generate dummy text to use on your template pages and https://placeholder.com to create placeholder images too.
6. Make A Template
After you are satisfied with what you have, go to the InstaWP dashboard and open the “Templates” tab from the menu. Click “Add New +” to create a fresh template. Now select the site you just configured, and press Next.
Now provide a suitable name and a description of your template, and click “Save”.
7. Launching A New Site From Template.
Once the template is created, you can use it to create multiple sites quickly. To launch a site, go to the “Sites” tab, and click “Add New +”. Now switch to the “From Template” submenu, and select your template. Click “Create Site” to launch your site.
8. Delete The Original Site (Optional)
Once the template is created, you can safely delete the original site.
Summary
If you work on a lot of WordPress sites, you can save hours of work by creating a blueprint website that contains all your plugins, themes, and custom settings. This can also be useful if you want to experiment and make changes without affecting the live version of your site.
Using a blueprint is the recommended way to create a WordPress website, as it allows you to use a combination of tools and techniques that work for you and your project. By starting with a solid foundation, and being flexible and open to experimentation, you can create a blueprint that is both functional and efficient.InstaWP offers users a simple and user-friendly way to create their own WordPress websites, sign up for free to create your own WordPress blueprint.
