So you’ve decided to create your blog on WordPress.com! In case you don’t know, Wordpress.com is a free, fully-hosted blogging platform that is built with the Worpress.org software. Because it’s a fully-hosted, you won’t need to find an hosting service, nor will need to set up the Wordpress software on your own. but be advised that the domain names of blogs hosted by Wordpress.com are “yourname.wordpress.com.” Read the rest of this entry »

There are two ways to create a WordPress site - 1) Upload the software from WordPress.org (it’s free!) to your own domain or 2) create a free site on WordPress.com. For many the choice may be confusing, but it really does become clear when you know what you intend to do with your site.

Wordpress.org

Wordpress.org offers free WordPress software, plugins, themes, and the guidance needed to set up a WordPress site. Before you do anything, you’ll need to find a hosting service that will host your WordPress site. Wordpress.org has a list of hosts but there are many that can host your WordPress blog, provided they meet the minimum requirements. Read the rest of this entry »

If you’re going to be adding or modifying themes, plugins or WordPress source files, you will need FTP software (aka an FTP client or File Transfer Protocol software) to access the directories in which your WordPress site is installed. FileZilla is a great choice for Windows operating systems because it works with all generations of Windows, and it’s also free (like WordPress)! Read the rest of this entry »

Now that you’ve installed and are ready to use the WordPress software, you’re going to need an understanding of how to make your site work. Maybe you’ve peeked into the WordPress admin area (aka as the Dashboard, the Control Panel, the backend), but you’re really not sure about what to do with it…and you definitely don’t want to mess anything up. Read the rest of this entry »