It's difficult to split worldbuilding up into parts that follow a correct order because the order in which the world is built will be different for everyone. You may begin with physical aspects, then jump to the magic system, and then come back to adjust things in the physical realm based on what you decided about the magic, then eventually get to culture.

Most elements become satisfying and cohesive when they play off of one another. For example, if the main magic of your fantasy world involves manipulation of light, you might consider how the world has floating orbs of light in more populated, rich areas, and poorer districts are dark and without any orbs. You also should consider how these elements will impact the cultural side of things. My point is, despite the order that I will cover them, keep in mind that you can jump around and adjust things in whatever manner works for you.

Now, let's take a look at the physical part of building your fantasy setting! Here is a list of things you might consider—however, remember that you really don't need to have all of these figured out (in fact, you shouldn't). Only the things your characters will encounter are important, and filling out every last detail of your world with things that never even show up on page may just be a waste of time you could have spent more productively. Don't fall into the trap where you spend years and years mapping out your world without ever actually writing it. If you try to work out every last possible detail, it'll end up drawing attention away from the actual story.

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Topography/Geography: The actual land that serves as a foundation of your map. This includes things like mountains, hills, valleys, rivers, lakes, etc. Maybe the different types of geographical features mark individual territories. Mountainous ranges are controlled by one group of people/creatures, while the lower valley is controlled by another, and coastal spots another. Maybe your world is made up overwhelmingly of flat land and underground caves. Is it one large continent, a few, or is it a collection of smaller islands?

Tectonic activity: This has more to do with the plates of the planet, and how they might form things like mountains and ocean trenches, and impact volcanic and earthquake activity. Maybe you want a world that has more rapidly shifting plates that make the ocean level, volcanoes, and earthquakes fluctuate often.

Cosmology: This involves the origin and development of the universe, which you can make as concrete or as mysterious as you'd like, if you choose to really touch on this at all in the first place. You can always look into actual cosmological beliefs in different cultures from the real world to gain inspiration. This can also fit under cultural building.

Astronomy: Celestial objects and its phenomena. Your fantasy sci-fi may involve lots of space travel, in which this is a far more important feature to figure out than if your world has a familiar sun, moon, and stars like our world. You could go into how many planets there are in the galaxy or do something smaller like making the sun appear purple instead of yellow/white. If you do something like giving the planet several moons, you might want to consider how that would affect things like gravity. It's always important to try to make things feel plausible so that your reader can experience the world and buy into it, rather than feeling pulled out of it as they question the logic behind it.

Weather/Climate: Maybe you want to give your world a unique climate or strange weather patterns that pose a danger to everyday life. Perhaps your world experiences seasons differently than what we're used to. Maybe clear skies are as rare as rain is in California.

Flora: Such a fun one! Flora refers to plant life, and I find plants to be a lot of fun to play with in worldbuilding. Maybe flowers are as large as buildings and trees can move their branches at will. Maybe roots are the colorful parts, while the buds are dreary. Consider how some of the plants are viewed in your world too. Are they used for healing? This will start leading you into cultural elements.

Fauna: What are your animals like? Are you going to use familiar creatures? Are animals even a common sight in your world, or have most of them gone extinct? Does everyone have a pet, or only the wealthy? Ask yourself if animals are going to be important in your world and build from there.

Physics: The easiest path here is to stick to regular physics as we know them, but if you want to really make your story feel fantastical, why not mess with physics? Floating ships and castles, underwater cities, the ability to jump sky-high. This can be a risk depending on how "out there" your concept is, but if you're wanting to go full-fantasy, why not challenge yourself this way? Just be sure to maintain consistency. If you establish early on that every can fly, you have to show your characters actually using this to their advantage whenever possible. If you say that ships can float, there probably should be any ships sailing the tides, unless you specify the reason.

Races: Your fantasy realm doesn't have to have different races, but having various demographics is a great way to explore and comment on themes like racism, division, equality, prejudice, societal expectations, etc. It's also just a lot of fun to come up with interesting races. Try your own take on elves, fae, mermaids, giants, or make up something completely new!

Magic: We'll be diving deeper into magic systems in the next update, but magic can often affect physical aspects of your world. If everyone controls water, there'd probably be access to bodies of water nearly everywhere you go—or, depending on the government you set up, perhaps water is purposely rationed in small amounts each day to prevent citizens from abusing the magic.

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My aim here is to get your minds going while leaving plenty of room for expansion and detail, so I hope these were helpful in that way!

A few notes to take away as we close:

- You don't need to, and probably shouldn't, have all of these figured out

- You should always ask yourself how your physical aspects relate to the culture and magic of your world, as well as the everyday life of your characters

- You want to use your worldbuilding in service of your story—meaning what the character comes across should mostly be important to their journey, though it's okay to have a few "just for fun" details, as long as they don't serve as a distraction

If you have any questions, please don't hesitate to ask them in the comments! I am only here to try my best to help <3