Many beginners think, “WordPress is too complicated.”
We hear this all the time, but it’s not actually true. The real challenge isn’t WordPress itself. It’s trying to figure things out on your own with no clear guidance.
After building countless WordPress sites and helping beginners get started, we’ve seen one thing over and over again: the right training makes all the difference.
That’s why we tested a wide range of WordPress courses to find the ones that explain things simply, break down the tech jargon, and help you build confidence step by step.
In this guide, we’ll share the seven courses that consistently help WordPress beginners go from confused to comfortable – no technical background needed. 🙌
Quick Picks: Best WordPress Training Courses for Beginners
Here are our top picks for the best WordPress training courses to kickstart your learning journey:
| 🥇 First Choice | 🥈 Second Choice | 🥉 Third Choice |
|---|---|---|
| WPBeginner Videos | WP101 | WPBeginner on YouTube |
| Price: Free | Price: $12/month | Price: Free |
| 33 modules, beginner-focused | Over 175 videos, all skill levels | 1,400+ free videos |
| Highly beginner-friendly | Professional production | Companion to our website |
| Additional courses available | Includes community access | Step-by-step tutorials |
| Read more » | Read more » | Read more » |
Who Needs WordPress Training Courses?
Anyone who wants to make a WordPress website can benefit from a structured training course.
WordPress is relatively easy to learn, and many beginners can get started without taking a formal training course.
However, we know that learning a completely new platform can be intimidating. We want to help lower the learning curve so you can become an expert at using the world’s best website builder without becoming discouraged.
A WordPress training course can help you quickly get familiar with the platform, learn the basics, and feel confident troubleshooting issues without struggling alone.
How We Test and Review WordPress Training Courses
With so many WordPress training courses available, choosing the right one can be overwhelming.
Whether you’re a beginner looking for step-by-step guidance or an experienced user seeking advanced skills, it’s important to choose an online course that delivers real value.
Not all courses provide the same level of quality, so we carefully evaluate each option based on the following key factors:
- 🧑🏫 Instructor expertise and credibility: We looked for courses taught by experienced WordPress professionals, developers, or educators with a strong track record.
- 📑 Course content and structure: We looked at whether the curriculum covers essential topics, like installation, themes, plugins, and security. Ideally, it should also offer a logical progression from beginner to advanced skills.
- 🔤 Teaching style and engagement: We chose courses that are clear, beginner-friendly, and free of unnecessary jargon.
- 🎬 Production quality: For video-based courses, we checked for clear visuals, well-edited content, and professional narration. High-quality video and audio improve the learning experience. Captions and transcripts are a bonus, ensuring better accessibility for all learners.
- 🙌 Support and community: We looked for courses that offer access to discussion forums, Q&A sections, or direct interaction with instructors, as learning is easier with support.
- 💰 Value for money: We compared course pricing to similar options and considered factors like lifetime access, updates, and additional resources.
Why Trust Our Recommendations
At WPBeginner, we’ve helped millions of beginners learn WordPress through our tutorials, videos, and step-by-step guides.
Along the way, we’ve tested many different WordPress training programs to see which ones actually make learning simple (and which ones overwhelm new users with technical jargon.)
For this roundup, we reviewed each course using a beginner’s perspective. That means we looked at how clearly the lessons are explained, how well the instructors break down concepts, and whether the training truly helps someone feel confident using WordPress.
See our complete editorial guidelines to learn more about our review process.
With that in mind, let’s explore our list of the best free and paid WordPress training courses. Here’s everything we’ll cover in this guide:
- WPBeginner Videos
- WP101
- WPBeginner on YouTube
- WPBeginner Blog
- OptinMonster University
- Thrive University
- LinkedIn Learning
- Bonus Platform: Udemy
- FAQs About the Best WordPress Training Courses
- Additional Resources for Online Courses
Let’s get started.
1. WPBeginner Videos
WPBeginner Videos offers a collection of free WordPress video courses for beginners, making it easy to get started with WordPress in just a few hours.
This program includes a WordPress 101 course with 33 training modules. It starts with the basics and gradually walks you through different sections, making the learning process smooth and engaging.
We appreciate how it covers essential skills like creating and managing content, adding images and videos, allowing user registrations, using the block editor, creating menus, installing themes and plugins, and more.
Designed for beginners, this video series provides a solid foundation for building your first website.
Best of all, it not only helps you get started but also supports continued learning with additional courses.
These include a comprehensive WordPress SEO course, a “How to Be a Better Blogger” course, and training for popular WordPress plugins, making it a well-rounded resource for anyone looking to master WordPress.
Price: Free
2. WP101
WP101 is a popular WordPress-focused training platform that offers 175+ training videos and multiple courses on various topics.
We like that all their videos are well-scripted, free of technical jargon, and professionally produced, making them easy to follow for learners at any level.
With content ranging from basic to intermediate WordPress, as well as advanced topics, you can continue learning and improving your skills over time.
One thing we love is that the platform gives you access to a community forum. This way, you can ask questions, get help with specific issues, and learn from other WordPress users. This way, you can practice your skills and experiment with new ideas in a risk-free environment.
Price: $12 per month or $48 per year.
3. WPBeginner on YouTube
WPBeginner on YouTube is one of the best WordPress channels for beginners, with over 1 million subscribers, 55 million views, and 1,400+ free videos. As the companion channel to the WPBeginner website, this training resource is managed and run by our team.
Here, we regularly upload new how-to tutorials for beginner-level users and ensure the videos are short and easy to follow.
Each video includes a link to the text version of the tutorial. You can even ask questions in the comments for the support team to answer, making it an interactive learning experience.
All in all, subscribing to our YouTube channel will help you stay current, brush up on your WordPress skills, and discover new tools and plugins for your website.
If you need guided instruction, we recommend using the Playlists tab, where our videos are organized by topic. The best starting point for absolute beginners is our New User playlist.
Price: Free
4. WPBeginner Blog
WPBeginner is the #1 WordPress resource site for beginners, with over 3,000 free tutorials and guides. We have been publishing WordPress tutorials and helping people learn WordPress and grow their small businesses since 2009.
While technically a blog, our organized Start Here guide functions just like a structured curriculum. It shows you exactly how to get started using WPBeginner’s free tutorials in the right order.
If you need more specific tutorials, we highly recommend starting with one of these entry points. All of them have been written specifically for absolute newcomers to WordPress:
| Title | Short Description |
|---|---|
| How to Make a WordPress Website | A beginner-friendly guide to building a complete WordPress site from scratch using a theme and essential plugins. |
| How to Start a Blog | Step-by-step instructions for launching a WordPress blog, writing posts, and setting up your blogging tools. |
| How to Create an Online Store | Learn how to set up a WooCommerce-powered store, add products, accept payments, and manage orders. |
| How to Learn WordPress for Free in a Week | A simple 7-day roadmap to mastering WordPress basics without spending anything. |
| How to Find the Best WordPress Theme | Tips for choosing the right theme based on design, features, performance, and customization options. |
| Best WordPress Plugins to Install on Your New Website | A curated list of must-have plugins to enhance your site’s SEO, security, speed, and functionality |
Plus, if you have a WordPress question, there’s a good chance we’ve already answered it.
Simply type your question into the search bar at the top-right corner.
And if you don’t find the answer you’re looking for, you can drop us a message using the contact form or post your question in our WPBeginner Engage Facebook group.
Price: Free
5. OptinMonster University
OptinMonster University offers digital marketing training for WordPress users and online business owners.
This course stands out because of its practical lessons that guide you through the fundamentals of digital marketing, email marketing, and converting website visitors into paying customers. These are essential skills for anyone looking to grow their online presence.
We found it especially useful that the course includes practical examples, downloadable checklists, worksheets, and a library of ebooks and guides. In our opinion, this makes it a comprehensive learning resource.
Since email is one of the highest-converting marketing channels, we strongly recommend that new WordPress users start building their email list as early as possible. And this course provides a great foundation to do just that.
Price: Included with all OptinMonster subscriptions
6. Thrive University
Thrive University offers marketing training courses specifically designed for beginners who want to use WordPress to scale. They include courses on building landing pages, growing an email list, creating a business website, and more.
These courses are especially helpful for entrepreneurs who are just getting started with WordPress and want to explore the best ways to grow their business online. The lessons are structured to make learning easy and actionable.
Note that while most beginner courses are free, some require a Thrive Suite subscription. A few premium courses are sold separately, which gives users flexible learning options.
Price: Free, with paid courses starting from $47, depending on the course.
7. LinkedIn Learning
LinkedIn Learning (formerly Lynda) is an online learning platform where industry experts and professionals offer video courses.
While it’s not a WordPress-specific platform, it offers dozens of WordPress courses covering a wide range of topics, from plugins and themes to PHP and JavaScript.
Many of these courses are created by experienced WordPress professionals, ensuring high-quality instruction.
Plus, when you complete a course on LinkedIn Learning, you can showcase the certification directly on your profile. This not only highlights your dedication to learning but also helps you stand out to potential employers and clients.
Price: $19.99 per month (paid annually)
Bonus Platform: Udemy
Udemy is one of the most popular online learning platforms, where course creators from many industries share their knowledge.
What makes it appealing is the wide variety of WordPress training courses available, taught by both individual creators and seasoned WordPress professionals. And whether you’re just getting started or diving into expert-level topics, there’s a course to match your needs.
We also appreciate the flexibility Udemy offers. You can start with WordPress basics and then gradually take other courses on more advanced topics such as theme development or security.
Another advantage is Udemy’s frequent discounts. Many premium courses become available at significantly reduced prices, making it an affordable way to build your skills without a big upfront investment.
Price: Varies by course
FAQs About the Best WordPress Training Courses
To wrap things up, here are quick answers to some common questions readers usually have when choosing a WordPress course.
How can I learn WordPress quickly?
Start with the basics: installing WordPress, choosing a theme, and adding pages or posts. From there, follow a structured beginner-friendly course or video playlist so you can learn step-by-step instead of guessing your way through. Practicing on a test site will also help you learn much faster.
Are there WordPress certifications?
Yes, some platforms offer certificates when you finish their WordPress courses, though they’re not official or required. These certificates are mainly for showing progress or adding credibility to your portfolio. WordPress itself doesn’t issue formal certifications.
Can ChatGPT build a WordPress website?
ChatGPT can guide you through the steps, help you write content, generate code snippets, and suggest plugins or design ideas. But you’ll still need to click, install, and customize things inside WordPress yourself. Think of ChatGPT as a helpful assistant – not a full website builder.
Additional Resources for Online Courses
We hope this article helped you find the best WordPress training courses for beginners.
Need some inspiration? We have other helpful WordPress guides you can check out:
- How to Create and Sell Online Courses with WordPress
- How to Create an eLearning Website in WordPress
- How to Offer WordPress Group Learning
- Best Online Course Platforms
- Best Course Creation Software and Tools
If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.
Dennis Muthomi
Love this article on WordPress training courses!
I always recommend my clients who are newbies to the WPBeginner Videos which are super helpful for beginners so that they can have a basic knowledge of WordPress and don’t depend on me entirely.
Then I always recommend them to practice what they learn after each video. This hands-on approach has helped them retain the info better.
Thanks for putting together such a great list!