WordPress Training: Taking Control of Your Own Website
You've invested in a WordPress website. It looks great, it's generating business, and then you need to update a phone number. Or add a blog post. Or change an image. If your first instinct is to email your web designer and wait three days, you're not getting the most from your investment. WordPress training puts you in control of your own website, saving you time, money, and frustration.
Who Needs WordPress Training?
Business owners with a WordPress site — even if you have someone who manages your site day-to-day, understanding the basics means you're never completely dependent on one person. You can make urgent updates, understand what your team is doing, and make informed decisions about your website.
Marketing teams — if your marketing team can update the website themselves — publishing blog posts, updating service pages, adding testimonials — content gets published faster and the website stays current. Waiting for a developer to make simple content changes creates bottlenecks.
New staff taking over website responsibilities — when the person who manages your website leaves or changes role, proper training for their replacement prevents the knowledge walking out the door with them.
Businesses that invest in training their teams report faster content updates, better website maintenance, and increased team confidence. When staff know how to manage the site themselves, they spot opportunities for improvements and can act on them immediately without waiting for external help.
Anyone considering building their own site — WordPress training before you start building helps you avoid expensive mistakes. Understanding the platform's capabilities and limitations upfront saves time and money. Our DIY vs professional guide can help you decide if building your own is the right approach.
What WordPress Training Should Cover
Essential Skills (Beginner)
The WordPress dashboard and how to navigate it, creating and editing pages and posts using the block editor, adding and formatting text, headings, and links, uploading and managing images and media, managing menus and navigation, basic user management (adding team members with appropriate access levels), understanding the difference between pages and posts, and publishing workflow (drafts, scheduling, publishing).
Content Management (Intermediate)
Using categories and tags effectively, writing content optimised for SEO, managing blog posts and content calendars, working with contact forms, updating widgets and footer content, basic image optimisation for web performance, and understanding permalinks and URL structure.
Deactivating plugins rather than deleting them is a common mistake. Unused plugins still take up space and may contain security vulnerabilities. Delete plugins you're not using completely, then reinstall them if needed later. Only deactivate plugins you think you'll reactivate soon.
Site Management (Advanced)
Updating WordPress core, plugins, and themes safely, backup procedures and how to restore from a backup, basic security practices, SEO plugin configuration (Yoast SEO or Rank Math), Google Analytics and Search Console basics, troubleshooting common issues, and performance monitoring. This level of training is particularly valuable if you're handling your own website maintenance.
Training Options in Ireland
One-to-one training from your web designer — the most relevant option because the training is specific to your actual website. Your designer knows your site's setup and can show you exactly how to do the tasks you need. Most agencies include a basic training session in their website design packages. Additional sessions typically cost €50–€150 per hour.
Group workshops — offered by various training providers across Ireland. These are more affordable (€100–€300 for a day) and cover general WordPress skills. Good for learning fundamentals, but they won't be specific to your site's theme and plugins. Local Enterprise Offices sometimes subsidise digital training workshops.
Online courses — platforms like LinkedIn Learning, Udemy, and Skillshare offer comprehensive WordPress courses at low cost (€10–€50). These let you learn at your own pace and revisit material as needed. The downside is you don't get personalised guidance, and courses may not match your specific WordPress setup.
Record your own training if you work with a web designer one-to-one. Ask them to do the training over a screen-sharing session and record it. You'll have a personalized reference video specific to your WordPress setup that you can rewatch whenever you need a refresher.
Recorded video walkthroughs — some web designers create custom screen-recorded training videos specific to your website. These are brilliant because you can rewatch them whenever you need a refresher, and they show your exact site rather than a generic example.
Getting the Most From Training
Take notes and screenshots — you won't remember everything from a single session. Document the steps for tasks you'll do regularly. Many people find it helpful to create a simple 'how to' document for their most common tasks.
Practice immediately — the best time to practice is right after training, while it's fresh. Create a test blog post, update a page, upload an image. If you wait two weeks before trying, you'll have forgotten half of what you learned.
Use a staging site — if your hosting supports staging (most managed WordPress hosts do), practice on a copy of your site rather than the live version. This lets you experiment without fear of breaking anything.
Waiting too long before applying what you've learned. Information retention drops sharply after a week. If you receive training, practice the skills within 24-48 hours while they're fresh. Even 30 minutes of hands-on practice immediately after training solidifies the knowledge much better than thinking about it for days.
Ask about ongoing support — good training providers offer follow-up support for questions that come up after the session. Even a simple email support arrangement gives you confidence to try things knowing help is available if needed.
Skillnet and LEO Funded Training
Several funding options can reduce the cost of WordPress and digital skills training in Ireland. Skillnet Ireland funds training programmes through industry networks — check their website for digital skills programmes in your sector. Local Enterprise Offices run regular digital marketing and website management workshops, often free or heavily subsidised. The Trading Online Voucher can sometimes be used for training as part of a broader digital development project.
Ready to Take Control of Your WordPress Site?
Get hands-on WordPress training tailored to your specific website and business goals. Learn at your own pace with expert guidance and ongoing support.
Talk to ProfileTree →Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to learn WordPress?
Basic content management (editing pages, adding blog posts, updating images) can be learned in 2–3 hours of hands-on training. Becoming confident with intermediate tasks takes a few weeks of regular use. Advanced site management skills develop over months. The key is consistent practice.
Do I need to know coding to use WordPress?
No. The block editor (Gutenberg) is visual and intuitive — no coding required for everyday content management. You can manage a professional WordPress site without writing a single line of code. Advanced customisation may require CSS or PHP knowledge, but that's what your web developer is for.
Is WordPress training worth the investment?
If you're currently paying someone to make simple content updates, training pays for itself quickly. A €200 training session that saves you €50/month in update fees pays back in four months. Beyond cost, the ability to update your site immediately (rather than waiting days) keeps your content fresh and your business responsive.
What's the best way to get ongoing WordPress support after training?
Look for trainers or agencies that offer email or chat support packages. Many successful users also join WordPress community groups on Facebook or attend local meetups where they can ask questions and learn from others managing similar sites.
Can I learn WordPress if I'm not tech-savvy?
Absolutely. WordPress was designed for non-technical users. The block editor is intuitive and forgiving. Most people become confident with basic tasks after just a few hours of hands-on practice. If you can use Facebook or send emails, you can learn WordPress.
Written by
Founder of Web Design Ireland. Helping Irish businesses make smart website investments with honest, practical advice.