Getting Started With WordPress in Enhance

Most people hit the same wall when they try WordPress for the first time: they cannot tell which jobs belong in the hosting panel and which belong inside WordPress itself. Once that split clicks, the whole process gets faster.

This guide walks through the exact order: install WordPress in Enhance, log in, pick a theme, build your core pages, and adjust the handful of settings that matter before launch. Follow it end to end and you can go from an empty domain to a working small business site in an afternoon.

If you are new to the control panel itself, our guide on what the Enhance control panel is and how it works covers the background.

What’s in This Post

• What Enhance does and what WordPress does
• How to install WordPress in Enhance
• What to do when you first log in
• How to download and activate themes
• How to add pages and build your site structure
• The key settings to change before launch
• Plugins, updates, and basic housekeeping
• A simple launch checklist for beginners
• Quick comparison table
• Final thoughts

What Enhance does and what WordPress does

Separate the two systems in your head before you install anything.

Enhance manages the hosting side. Website containers, domains, files, databases, mailboxes, backups, and app installation all live here.

WordPress manages the website itself. Design, pages, posts, menus, plugins, users, and day-to-day content editing all live here.

The shortcut: if you are creating or hosting the site, you are in Enhance. If you are changing how the site looks or what it says, you are in WordPress.

For the reasoning behind our move to this setup, read why we moved from cPanel to Enhance and what we chose instead of cPanel.

How to install WordPress in Enhance

Enhance includes a built-in WordPress installer. According to the Enhance documentation on installing WordPress, your hosting package must have Allow software installer enabled before it will appear as an option. On Webfort plans, this is enabled by default.

There are two routes into the installer depending on whether you are starting fresh or adding WordPress to an existing site.

Install WordPress on a new website

For a fresh domain or subdomain:

1. Open Websites in the left sidebar.
2. Select Add website.
3. When the form loads, select Install an app.
4. Complete the form and select Add.

This is the cleanest route when you are starting from scratch.

Install WordPress on an existing website

To add WordPress to a site that already exists in Enhance:

1. Open Websites in the left sidebar.
2. Select the website you want to use.
3. Open the Apps tab.
4. Select Install app.
5. Complete the form and select Add.

Enhance lets you install WordPress on a main domain, addon domain, alias, or subdomain. That flexibility matters if you want to build a staging site or keep a new WordPress project in a separate area before it replaces an older one.

Start on a subdomain if you are unsure

If this is your first WordPress project, only install on the main domain when you are ready to work on the live address. For anything else, use a subdomain such as staging.yourdomain.co.uk. It takes two minutes to set up and saves you from publishing half-finished work to the world.

Save the admin login the moment the installer finishes. Lost credentials are the single most common reason a beginner site stalls for days, and it is entirely avoidable.

What to do when you first log in

The first screen after login is the WordPress Dashboard — your control room for everything that lives inside WordPress.

Resist the urge to install ten plugins on day one. Get your bearings first.

Focus on these menu items before anything else:

• Pages — your main site content
• Posts — blog articles or news updates
• Appearance — themes, menus, and design settings
• Plugins — added features
• Users — admin accounts and editors
• Settings — site title, reading settings, and permalinks

Click through the menus, visit the front end, and get a feel for the default theme before you replace it. Understanding the layout now saves a lot of second-guessing later.

If you care about performance from day one — and you should — our post on why website speed matters more than you think is worth a read. Getting speed right early is cheaper than fixing it after launch.

How to download and activate themes

Changing the look of the site happens inside WordPress, not Enhance. Go to Appearance > Themes and you have two normal options.

Option 1: Install a theme from the WordPress library

The easiest route, and the right one for most small business sites:

1. Go to Appearance > Themes.
2. Click Add New.
3. Search by name or browse the available options.
4. Click Install.
5. Click Activate.

Themes from the official library are quick to install, safe to update, and vetted by WordPress reviewers.

Option 2: Upload a premium theme ZIP file

WordPress also supports uploaded themes:

1. Download the theme ZIP file to your computer.
2. Go to Appearance > Themes.
3. Click Add New.
4. Click Upload Theme.
5. Choose the ZIP file and click Install Now.
6. Click Activate.

The official WordPress theme screen documentation covers the admin-side workflow in more detail.

A few theme rules that save headaches

• Pick a theme that is actively maintained — check the last update date.
• Confirm it works with your current WordPress version.
• Avoid bloated multi-purpose themes if you only need a simple brochure site.
• Use the Live Preview option before committing.
• Back up custom work before switching themes later.

It is faster to reject a theme in preview than rebuild a site after you realise the layout does not fit.

How to add pages and build your site structure

Pages hold your core site content — Home, About, Services, Contact, Pricing, FAQ. Posts are chronological and suit a blog; pages are timeless and suit the main site structure.

To create a page:

1. Go to Pages > Add New.
2. Enter the page title.
3. Add your content in the editor.
4. Add images, buttons, or blocks as needed.
5. Click Publish when the page is ready.

The official WordPress pages documentation covers the workflow in full.

Build the important pages first

For a typical small business site, start with:

• Home
• About
• Services or Products
• Contact
• Privacy Policy

These five give the site shape immediately. Add more later once the core is in place.

Create subpages when it makes sense

WordPress supports parent and child pages. In the page settings sidebar, open Page Attributes and use the Parent Page dropdown to nest one page under another.

That works well for structures like:

• Services → Web Hosting
• Services → WordPress Hosting
• Services → Website Design

Subpages keep URLs and navigation tidy as the site grows.

Think about menus early

Publishing a page does not automatically place it in the navigation. After you create the main pages, open Appearance > Menus and arrange the items in the order visitors actually need. Your navigation should make the site structure obvious within a few seconds.

If you plan to grow the site over time, our guide on 10 things to check before choosing a web host covers the hosting factors that make scaling easier.

The key settings to change before launch

A fresh WordPress install works out of the box, but six settings are worth changing before you send anyone the link.

1. Site title and tagline

Under Settings > General, set the site title to your business name and remove the default “Just another WordPress site” tagline if you are not using it.

2. Permalinks

Under Settings > Permalinks, switch to Post name if the site is still on the default numeric URLs. Change this before the site gains indexed pages — changing it later means setting up redirects for every URL.

3. Time zone and admin email

Still under Settings > General, set the time zone to London (or the correct UK location) and confirm the admin email. This matters for scheduled posts, update notifications, and password resets.

4. Reading settings

Under Settings > Reading, pick a static homepage once your pages exist if you are building a brochure site. Leave the latest-posts view in place if you are blog-first.

5. Comments and discussion

Under Settings > Discussion, disable comments on pages and posts if you do not plan to moderate them. Spam appears fast, and silent comment queues are one of the first signs of a neglected site.

6. Logo, colours, and branding

Most themes let you set these under Appearance > Customise or the site editor. Upload the logo, match the colour palette, and replace any placeholder text so the site stops looking like a template.

Plugins, updates, and basic housekeeping

Themes control design. Plugins add features. Every plugin also adds weight, an update responsibility, and a chance of conflict, so keep the list lean.

Start with essentials only:

• SEO plugin (Rank Math or Yoast)
• Security plugin (Wordfence or similar)
• Backup plugin, if your hosting workflow does not already handle this
• Caching or optimisation plugin, if required
• Forms plugin, if the theme does not cover contact forms

If a plugin solves a real problem, keep it. If it just adds a dashboard widget, skip it.

For sites with more traffic or more plugins, database housekeeping starts to matter too. Our guide on optimising your WordPress database for better performance covers the long-term work.

Three habits worth keeping from the start:

• Update WordPress core, themes, and plugins promptly.
• Remove themes and plugins you are not actively using.
• Test major changes on a staging site when possible.

A simple launch checklist for beginners

Run through this before you call the site finished.

If hosting cost, speed, or future scaling are still open questions, our guide to web hosting costs in 2026 sets honest expectations.

Quick comparison table

Final thoughts

Getting started with WordPress in Enhance breaks down into two stages. Use Enhance to install WordPress on the right domain. Then use WordPress to shape the site, set the design, and publish your pages.

Keep the setup lean, pick a solid theme, and build the five core pages before you worry about anything else. You do not need every plugin. You do not need a complicated theme. You need a site that loads quickly, looks trustworthy, and makes the next step obvious for visitors.

If you would rather skip the trial and error, take a look at our WordPress hosting plans — WordPress is pre-installed, optimised, and backed up from day one.