I've helped dozens of people build their first WordPress website. Here are the mistakes I see over and over:

1. Don't pick a complex theme. Beginners grab the flashiest theme they can find, then spend weeks fighting it. Pick something lightweight like Astra or GeneratePress. You can always switch later.

2. Set your permalinks on day one. Go to Settings → Permalinks → "Post name." If you change this after publishing content, all your links break. Do it first.

3. You don't need 30 plugins. I see people install plugins for everything. Most sites need 5-8 max. Every extra plugin is a potential security hole and speed hit.

4. Learn the block editor properly. A lot of people avoid it or install Classic Editor. The block editor is actually powerful once you learn it. Spend 30 minutes exploring.

5. Launch before it's perfect. Your first site won't be perfect. That's fine. Get it live, get feedback, iterate. A live imperfect site beats a perfect site that never launches.

I built WordPress Academy to take complete beginners through this whole process step by step. If you're ready to build your first site, check it out.