Your website's appearance is often the first impression visitors have of your professional brand. In this lesson, you'll learn how to select and configure a WordPress theme, customize your site identity, upload a professional logo and favicon, choose an effective website title and tagline, and create a clean, consistent visual design. These foundational settings will help establish your online presence and prepare your website for showcasing your resume, research, portfolio, publications, and other professional accomplishments.
In this lesson, you'll learn how to perform the initial setup of a self-hosted WordPress website using cPanel through GoDaddy. We'll walk through installing WordPress, configuring the basic site settings, understanding the cPanel dashboard, organizing your hosting environment, and preparing your website for future customization. By completing these initial setup steps correctly, you'll build a solid foundation for creating a professional website that can showcase your resume, research, portfolio, publications, and academic achievements throughout your STEM career.
Understanding the difference between DNS forwarding and permanent (301) redirects is essential when managing a professional website. In this lesson, I explain how DNS records and URL redirects work, when to use each option, how permanent redirects affect search engine optimization (SEO), and how to properly configure redirects in cPanel. You'll also learn common mistakes to avoid when moving websites, changing domains, or forwarding traffic so your visitors and search engines always reach the correct destination.
Choosing the right hosting service is one of the first and most important decisions when building your professional STEM website. In this lesson, I explain the different types of WordPress hosting, discuss the advantages and disadvantages of popular hosting providers, and share what to consider when selecting a service for your resume, portfolio, research projects, blog, and future professional website. By making the right choice early, you can build a website that grows with you throughout college and your career.