WordPress Wednesdays: Where to Begin

Hints

A lot of people want a web site or a blog but do not know where to start or what all WordPress has to offer. If you are looking for a great, easy to use system to publish content on the web – I would start here:

  1. Start Free. If you want to simply check out WordPress and see what is made of – sign up for a free account at wordpress.com You can choose from several free themes (look and feel) and have no worries about backup, hosting, etc. This will allow you to focus on the content and not get frustrated with installation/set up and hosting.
  2. Read. Take 10 minutes and read through some of the documentation.
  3. Play Around. Familiarize yourself with WordPress widgets (sidebar) and start taking control of your content.
  4. Customize. Once you are ready to move your site to a host so you can customize your theme, your plugins, etc – start looking at some free plugins before doing any custom development. It is most likely you will be able to find something free that fits your needs.
  5. Add. Check out the themes and plugin listings on wordpres.org (Extend).
  6. Learn More. If you get to a point where you have a site up, you have content, and you want to find out more about what all WordPress can offer – I would suggest either buying a WordPress book or pay for an hour of consultation with a company that specializes in blog consultation (like my company) so you can really maximize your web site presence and efficiency.
  7. Small Steps. Most importantly – start small and build on it. Blogging and maintaining a web site is not always fun or easy – but taking small steps (one new plugin at a time, or a slight change in a template) will ensure your web site will continually develop into something great!

Just remember – you do not have to be a graphic designer or a programmer to have a great web site – you just need patience and a willingness to learn!

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.
*
*

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

TV

Thursday Linkfest: June 18, 2009

This week flew by – but I actually found a number of links very interesting over the last seven days. Chicagoland fishing information and reports How to ditch cable but still have quality TV programming options (thanks @htoddcarter) TV.com – TiVO again and again proves it is the coolest thing around. You can find shows […]

Music

Media Mondays: Radio 538 iPhone App

This week I recommend anyone who enjoys listening to Radio 538 (I love the Dance Department) – to download and use the Radio 538 iPhone App. (Julie – this means you). You can get the application for free using iTunes. Even though the controls are not in english – it is easy enough to figure […]