Launch a Developer Portfolio and Blog on SiteGround: A Practical WordPress Guide

A developer portfolio needs to answer a few questions quickly: what do you build, what have you finished, and how can someone contact you? A blog gives you room to explain the decisions behind that work.

This guide builds both on one WordPress installation hosted by SiteGround. We will use a free block theme, ordinary pages, and blog posts, keeping the first version small enough to maintain alongside your projects.

The steps follow the providers' documentation checked on September 30, 2026. This is a documentation-based walkthrough; we have not yet completed a fresh-account test of the entire sequence. Menu labels may vary as WordPress and SiteGround change.

1. Decide Whether WordPress Fits Your Portfolio

WordPress makes sense if you want to publish regularly in a browser, edit project descriptions without rebuilding the site, and use an established content system.

If your portfolio is a few static pages and you prefer a Git-based publishing workflow, a static site may be a better fit. Paid WordPress hosting is an ongoing expense, and the application still needs updates and checks.

For this project, the reason to use WordPress is editorial flexibility: project pages and a blog live together, and adding an article does not require a deployment pipeline.

Pick the Hosting Plan Around Your Workflow

At the time of checking, SiteGround lists StartUp at $2.99 per month initially, renewing at $17.99 per month, with a 12-month prepaid term. That is $35.88 for the first year and $215.88 for the following year before taxes and extras, assuming unchanged rates.

GrowBig is listed at $4.99 per month initially, renewing at $29.99 per month on that term. It adds built-in staging and on-demand backups. StartUp hosts one website and is sufficient for the single-site structure in this guide; GrowBig is worth considering if you regularly test plugin or theme changes in a hosted staging copy. Check the External link: current plans and renewal terms (opens in a new tab).

Before checkout, record the amount due now, the renewal total, domain renewal costs, and any selected add-ons. Choose a data-center region close to the people most likely to visit your site.

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2. Create the WordPress Website

Sign in to SiteGround's Client Area and open Websites. If your first site has a pending setup, choose Finish Site Setup. Otherwise, choose New Website.

Select WordPress and follow the setup prompts for your domain, data center, and administrator credentials. For this guide, choose WordPress rather than SiteGround's separate Website Builder. Skip optional extras you have not decided to use. The External link: current website setup guide (opens in a new tab) shows this flow.

If you already created a blank website, use Site Tools → WordPress → Install & Manage. Select WordPress, your domain, language, and administrator details. Install at the domain root for this portfolio, rather than in a /wordpress subfolder. SiteGround documents this alternative in its External link: installation tutorial (opens in a new tab).

Use a unique administrator password and an email inbox you can access independently of the new website. Store the credentials in your password manager.

Check: once the domain reaches the new hosting account, https://your-domain.example/wp-admin/ should lead to the WordPress login. Replace the example domain with your own throughout this guide.

3. Connect the Domain Without Breaking Email

Your domain registrar, DNS provider, website host, and email provider can be separate services. You do not need to transfer the domain registration to connect the website.

Choose one DNS approach:

• Keep your existing DNS provider. Point the website's A record to the site IP shown in SiteGround's Site Tools dashboard. Check the www hostname separately so it resolves to the same website.
• Move DNS management to SiteGround. Change the domain's nameservers at the registrar, using the values shown in your account. Recreate existing records in the new DNS zone before switching.

SiteGround describes both options in its External link: domain-pointing guide (opens in a new tab), and identifies the site IP in its External link: dashboard guide (opens in a new tab).

If the domain already has email, preserve its MX records and relevant SPF, DKIM, and DMARC records. Changing nameservers without copying them can interrupt mail even when the website works. Also review any existing AAAA record: it may continue directing IPv6 visitors to an older host.

Check: visit the root domain and www from a private browser window. They should reach the intended site. If they disagree, compare both DNS records and allow for cached responses; repeatedly reinstalling WordPress will not fix DNS.

4. Enable HTTPS and Verify It

In Site Tools → Security → SSL Manager, select your domain and install a free Let's Encrypt certificate if one is not already active. Then enable HTTPS Enforce for the site. Follow the External link: SSL and HTTPS guide (opens in a new tab).

After the certificate is valid, check WordPress → Settings → General. The WordPress Address and Site Address should use your intended HTTPS hostname for this root installation. If they already do, leave them alone.

Check: load the homepage over HTTPS without a certificate warning. Opening its HTTP address should redirect to HTTPS. Test www as well if you intend visitors to use it.

If certificate issuance fails, check that the domain reaches this hosting account first. If an older imported image loads over HTTP, update its URL; enabling a certificate alone does not rewrite every content link.

5. Choose a Theme and Establish the Site Structure

In WordPress, go to Appearance → Themes → Add New, search for Twenty Twenty-Five, and install and activate the official External link: WordPress.org (opens in a new tab) theme. It is a free block theme suitable for portfolios and blogs. You can inspect its External link: theme listing (opens in a new tab) before installing.

This guide uses that theme so the editing model is consistent. A classic theme or a page-builder theme can expose different controls.

Create these pages through Pages → Add New:

Publish the pages once each has usable content. Keep Blog empty: WordPress will use it as the posts index. For page creation basics, see the External link: WordPress page guide (opens in a new tab).

Open Settings → Reading, choose A static page, set Homepage to Home and Posts page to Blog, then save. These are separate pages. The External link: static-front-page instructions (opens in a new tab) explain the assignment.

Next, open Settings → Permalinks, choose Post name, and save. Do this before distributing links; changing URLs later may require redirects. See External link: WordPress permalink settings (opens in a new tab).

6. Make the Homepage Useful

Edit Home with the block editor. Start with a short introduction and a link to your best work. A practical layout is:

1. A one-sentence description of the development work you do.
2. A short paragraph explaining who the site is for.
3. Two selected projects with clear links.
4. A link to Blog and a way to contact you.

For example, a frontend developer might describe building accessible interfaces and then show an application that demonstrates that skill. Replace generic claims with specific work a visitor can inspect.

Use Heading, Paragraph, Group, Image, and Buttons blocks before adding a page builder. Keep screenshots readable on mobile, add useful alternative text, and remove personal data or secrets from anything you publish.

Your theme may display the page title for you. Inspect the published page before adding another title-sized heading. Aim for one clear main heading and a logical structure beneath it.

For shared colors, typography, headers, and footers, use Appearance → Editor. The External link: Site Editor guide (opens in a new tab) explains the difference between site-wide templates and page content.

Check: open the homepage on your phone. A visitor should be able to understand what you build and reach a project without working through a long introduction.

7. Write Project Summaries That Show Your Decisions

For the first version, put two project summaries directly on Projects. Separate detail pages can come later when you have enough material.

Use the same structure for each project:

• Problem: what needed to work, and for whom?
• Your role: what did you personally build?
• Approach: which tools and architecture did you choose, and why?
• Result: what can a visitor verify through a demo, repository, screenshot, or test?
• Tradeoff: what limitation would you address next?

An honest result is more useful than an invented metric. If you have not measured performance, describe the implemented behavior and its limitations. Label team contributions clearly.

For a repository link, make sure the README explains setup and the project runs with the supplied instructions. For a live demo, test it while logged out. A private repository or an expired demo should not be the only evidence of the work.

8. Publish One Development Article

Create a post through Posts → Add New. Pick a problem from one of your projects that another developer could encounter: a deployment failure, an accessibility improvement, or a design decision with a meaningful tradeoff.

A useful first post answers five questions:

1. What were you trying to do?
2. What failed or required a decision?
3. What did you change?
4. How did you verify the result?
5. What should another developer watch for?

Use headings, short code examples where needed, and links to primary documentation. Add a descriptive title, an excerpt if the theme uses it, and a sensible category such as Development Notes. Preview the post, then publish it.

Check: open Blog. The post should appear there, and its title should link to the full article. If the index is empty, check that you published a Post rather than a Page and that Blog is assigned as the posts page.

9. Finish Navigation and Contact

Open Appearance → Editor and edit the header through its template part or pattern. Select the Navigation block and add Home, Projects, About, Blog, and Contact. Save the relevant header and navigation changes. The exact route into the header varies by WordPress version; the External link: Navigation block guide (opens in a new tab) explains the controls.

If you do not see Appearance → Editor, confirm that Twenty Twenty-Five is active. Instructions for a classic theme's menu screen use a different editing model.

On Contact, add an email address and the professional profiles you want readers to use. An email link is sufficient for this first version. If you later add a form, test actual delivery and spam handling before relying on it.

Write About in your own voice: what you are working on, which skills you are developing, and the kinds of collaboration you welcome. Skip claims you cannot support.

Check: open every navigation link while logged out, then test the mobile menu. Click the contact link and verify that the displayed address is correct.

10. Launch With a Small, Repeatable Checklist

Before sharing the site, check Settings → Reading. Clear Discourage search engines from indexing this site when you are ready for public discovery. That setting is a request to search engines, not a way to keep confidential work private. See External link: Reading settings (opens in a new tab).

Work through this list in a private browser window:

• The root domain and your chosen hostname reach the correct HTTPS site.
• Home, Projects, About, Blog, and Contact work without an administrator login.
• Two project summaries have working evidence links.
• The blog post appears in the index and opens at its permanent URL.
• Navigation works with a keyboard and on a narrow screen.
• Screenshots are readable and have appropriate alternative text.
• Contact details work, and any form sends a message you actually receive.
• Sample posts, unused pages, and unwanted starter content are removed.
• A successful backup exists, and you know how to restore it.
• You have recorded the hosting and domain renewal dates and costs.

If you collect personal information through forms or analytics, decide what you need, explain that collection appropriately, and avoid adding services by default. This first version can work with a simple contact link and no additional tracking.

Set Up Maintenance Before You Forget

In Site Tools → WordPress → Autoupdate, review the update schedule and plugin-update option. SiteGround's External link: AutoUpdate documentation (opens in a new tab) describes pre-update backups and notes that skipped plugin updates need manual attention.

In Site Tools → Security → Backups, confirm that a backup has completed. SiteGround documents up to 30 daily copies for shared hosting, restore options, and manual-backup slots on GrowBig and higher plans. Downloadable backup archives require its Premium Backup service; keep an independent copy of important files and database data. See the External link: backup guide (opens in a new tab).

After important updates, revisit the homepage, a project, the blog index, and Contact. For a larger change, use staging if your plan includes it, or test on another disposable copy before changing production.

Common Setup Problems

What to Add Next

Once the site works, add depth where readers need it: a detailed project case study, another article explaining a real development decision, or a clearer description of your services.

Keep the operating cost tied to those needs. Upgrade for a workflow or capacity requirement you can identify. A small portfolio benefits most from accurate project evidence, clear writing, and reliable maintenance.