Recently, one of our readers asked if it was possible to create a website like BuzzFeed using WordPress. BuzzFeed is one of the most popular websites on the Internet known primarily for its viral content. Its success has inspired many bloggers to follow the same model. In this article, we will show you how to easily create a website like BuzzFeed with WordPress.
BuzzFeed is one of the most popular websites on the internet. Popular for its comments, questions, and comments on pop culture, the website has grown into a massive media company with annual revenues of $250 million in 2016.
BuzzFeed represents a successful business model that many aspiring bloggers and entrepreneurs can follow. It allows you to earn money online while showing off your creativity and offering value to your users.
First, you will need to choose the right platform. You can choose from many blogging platforms, but we recommend that you use WordPress because it is the most popular website builder and content management system in the world.
Fun fact: WordPress powers over 30% of all websites on the internet.
When we say WordPress, we are talking about self-powered WordPress.org and not WordPress.com. They are two different platforms. See our article on WordPress.com vs WordPress.org for a side-by-side comparison of the two platforms.
We recommend using WordPress.org because it gives you full control, ownership, and freedom to create your own website just like BuzzFeed. For more information, check out our full WordPress review.
There are three things you will need to create a website like Buzzfeed:
Yes, you can make a website like BuzzFeed in 40 minutes, and we'll guide you every step of the way.
In this tutorial, we will cover the following:
Clever? Let us begin.
First, you will need to register a domain name and purchase hosting.
Normally a domain name costs $14.99/year and the website hosts $7.99 per month which is usually paid annually.
If you're just starting out, then this is quite a lot of money..
Fortunately, Bluehost has agreed to offer WPBeginner readers a free domain name, free SSL certificate, and 60% off hosting.
Basically, you can get started for $2.75 per month.
→ Click here to claim this exclusive offer from Bluehost ←
Bluehost is one of the largest hosting companies in the world and is an officially recommended WordPress hosting provider.
Note: At WPBeginner we believe in transparency. If you sign up with Bluehost through our referral link, we'll earn a small commission at no additional cost to you (in fact, you'll save money and get a free domain). We would get this commission for recommending almost any WordPress hosting company, but we only recommend products that we personally use and believe will add value to our readers.
With that said, let's move on to setting up your domain name and hosting, so you can start building your website.
First, you need to visit the Bluehost website and click the 'Get Started Now' button.
You will then be prompted to select a plan. The Basic and Plus plans are popular with our users.
After that, you will need to choose a domain name for your website.
Some tips for choosing the best domain name for a website like BuzzFeed.
Do you need more advice? Check out our guide on how to choose the perfect domain name for your website.
After choosing your domain name, you will enter your account information such as name, address, email, etc.
Below that, you'll see some additional hosting options that you can purchase. We do not recommend buying these extras because they will increase your hosting bill. You can always add them later if needed.
You will then need to add your payment information to complete the purchase.
After that, you will receive an email with a link to your hosting control panel and login information.
Bluehost will automatically install WordPress for you, and you can login to your WordPress site directly from the hosting panel.
Once you are logged in, you will see the WordPress admin area. From here you will be able to manage your website, change content and add content.
By default, WordPress comes with a very basic theme that is nothing like BuzzFeed.
Fortunately, there are thousands of pre-made multipurpose WordPress themes for you to choose from. We have selected some WordPress themes designed for viral content and websites like BuzzFeed.
Doberman is the perfect WordPress theme for BuzzFeed like viral content websites. Increase user engagement with techniques used by viral content websites like social counts, trending content, popular posts, personalized reactions, social sharing suggestions and more.
It has over 80 customization options that allow you to use your own colors, layouts, and styles. You can make it uniquely yours without writing any code. It also includes one-click installation of demo content, after which you can simply go ahead and replace the content with your own.
SociallyViral is another excellent WordPress theme designed specifically for viral magazine websites. It includes social shares, social media icons, trending posts, social integrations, Google AdSense placements, and more.
It has a built-in 'load more posts' feature with 4 different styles, an email subscription box, and a featured posts section at the top. It is highly SEO optimized with schema rich snippet support.
Noozbeat is a beautifully designed WordPress theme for content-rich websites like online magazines and newspapers. It comes with dedicated spots to display ads on your website.
It also includes several layouts for the home page, categories, and individual articles. It's easy to use with tons of customization options and unlimited color options.
Synapse is a free WordPress theme for viral magazine and newspaper websites. It features a multi-color layout with a full-width layout that gives it a modern look.
It includes simple customization options that make it easy to use and configure. Synapse is lightweight and compatible with all popular WordPress plugins.
TruePixel is another modern WordPress theme designed for content-rich websites. It is designed to reduce bounce rate and increase user engagement, which means more page views for your website.
It is also ad-ready, allowing you to start monetizing your website right away. It comes with a custom theme options panel that will help you easily configure your website.
BuzzMag is a free WordPress theme designed for online magazines. It comes with a featured posts section at the top, a modern homepage layout that puts your content front and center. It has out-of-the-box ad areas, multiple sidebars, and easy-to-use theme options.
Do you want to see more topics? See our expert pick of the best WordPress magazine themes that can be used to create a website like BuzzFeed.
BuzzFeed started with viral content like personality quizzes, memes, lists, and pop culture commentary. Now it has become a big media company that publishes different types of content.
You will need to decide what type of content you want to post on your website.
WordPress makes it easy to add any type of content to your website. You can create lists, articles, upload images, embed videos and audio, create photo galleries, and more.
For more information, check out our beginner's guide on how to add a new post in WordPress and use all its features.
Here are some of our guides to help you create content similar to BuzzFeed and other viral magazines.
While building a BuzzFeed-like website, it's important to make it your own by giving it a unique voice and style. This will help your brand stand out and capture a loyal audience.
To achieve this, you will need to regularly post new content. You will notice that the largest websites publish a large amount of content every day. This is very difficult to do at first, so you must choose your own frequency.
We recommend starting with three articles a week and then increasing the pace to publish daily.
Now you may think, how do you come up with new blog post ideas on a regular basis? Check out these 73 types of blog posts that are engaging and can easily be used on a viral content website.
Need even more ideas? Make it a habit to visit websites similar to BuzzFeed for inspiration. We are not saying that you should steal or copy its content.
Instead, collect ideas/topics, get inspired and learn. Use these ideas with your own blog posts to create something new and original.
Viral content websites like BuzzFeed rely on traffic and user engagement for success. More people visiting your website means more pageviews and higher ad revenue.
However, most beginners don't know where to start and how to get more traffic to their website.
Optimize your website for SEO
Most of the popular websites on the internet get most of their traffic from search engines like Google. Experienced website owners use SEO (search engine optimization) to improve their websites for search engines.
WordPress is designed to be an SEO friendly platform out of the box. However, there is still a lot you can do to ensure that your content is found by search engines and displayed higher in search rankings.
For a complete setup, follow the step-by-step instructions in our WordPress SEO guide for beginners.
Improve the speed and performance of your website.
You will notice that BuzzFeed loads extremely fast and works well even on slower internet connections. A faster website gives users a better user experience, and also improves your SEO.
You can make your website fast by implementing some best practices to tune its performance.
We have a complete guide to improve WordPress speed and performance with step-by-step instructions for beginners.
Learn from your users
To make your website popular, you need to know what your users prefer. Most beginners try to make educated guesses instead of getting the real data.
Simply install Google Analytics on your website, and it will tell you which pages are popular on your site, where users are coming from, how long they spend, and more.
You can also track user engagement on your website with Google Analytics. This allows you to see exactly what users are doing when they are on your website and what you can do to increase their engagement.
BuzzFeed not only has a huge audience, it also makes a lot of money. His main source of income is online advertising and the sale of marketing solutions to companies and advertisers.
As a beginner, you may not get advertisers as high as BuzzFeed, but there are plenty of ways to generate a steady income from your website.
1. Show ads on your website using Google AdSense
Millions of websites on the Internet rely on advertisements to make money. Google AdSense makes it very easy for bloggers to display ads on their websites.
You don't have to worry about finding advertisers and collecting money. Google takes care of advertisers, collects money and sends it to you after making a small cut.
For detailed instructions, check out our step-by-step guide on how to properly add Google AdSense in WordPress.
2. Build social networks by following
Viral content platforms like BuzzFeed have a huge following on social media, which has made them even more attractive to major brands. These brands approach them for collaboration, brand placement, and other deals to reach their huge social media audience.
However, for this, you need to start building a following on selected social media platforms. Instagram and YouTube are the two platforms that attract many large and small businesses.
An easy way to develop a social following is to share posts on your website. You can share your Instagram posts to your blog and embed your videos in your blog posts.
3. Affiliate Marketing
Affiliate marketing allows you to recommend products and earn a referral commission when users purchase a product after clicking your link.
You will need to find products that complement your website themes and have an affiliate program. The largest affiliate network you can join is Amazon Affiliates. It has thousands of products you can choose from.
To get started, check out our guide on how to manage affiliate links in WordPress.
There are many other ways to generate income from your viral content blog. Take a look at our guide on different ways to make money from your blog for more ideas.
Building a website for a magazine like BuzzFeed allows you to experiment with different ways to add content, engage audiences, and grow your business. As you work on your website, you'll realize there's so much more you can do with WordPress.
WordPress is pretty easy to use, but from time to time questions will occur to you. The good news is that there is a lot of help available online.
WPBeginner is the world's largest free WordPress resource site. We have tons of helpful resources, guides, and tutorials, written specifically for beginners, bloggers, and business owners.
Below are some helpful WPBeginner resources that you should check out. All of them are completely free.
Many of our users use Google to find answers on WPBeginner by simply adding wpbeginner after their search term.
We hope this article helped you create a BuzzFeed-like website with WordPress. You may also want to check out these practical tips for driving traffic to your new website. free
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