Introduction

It was 2003 when I discovered the WordPress blogging software. Way back then (and in Internet years, that’s actually quite a lot of time) I used Movable Type as my blogging platform. My friend Chelle introduced me to the WordPress software. “Try it,” she said. “You’ll really like it.”

As a creature of habit, I felt reluctant to make the change. But I haven’t looked back. I’ve been with WordPress ever since.

Blogs are here to stay. Authors, students, parents, business owners, academics, journalists, hobbyists — you name it — use blogs as a matter of course.

WordPress has been a huge part of the blogging boom. Today, it’s the most popular blogging platform for personal, business, and corporate bloggers alike.

To a brand-new user, some aspects of WordPress can seem a little bit intimidating. After you take a look under the hood, however, you begin to realize how intuitive, friendly, and extensible the software is.

This book presents an insightful look at two popular versions of WordPress:

The hosted version available at WordPress.com

The self-hosted version available at WordPress.org

The book also covers managing and maintaining your WordPress blog through the use of WordPress plugins and themes.

If you’re interested in taking a detailed look at the blogging and website services provided by WordPress, you happen to have just the right book in your hands.

About This Book

This book covers all the important aspects of WordPress that new users need to know to begin using the software for their own blog (or blogs). I cover the two most popular versions of WordPress, highlighting all the important topics, such as these:

Setting up and using a hosted blog at WordPress.com

Locating good hosting services for the self-hosted version of the software (available at WordPress.org)

Installing and setting up the WordPress.org software

Navigating the Dashboards of both the hosted and self-hosted versions of WordPress

Adding media files to your blog

Finding and installing free themes to use in your WordPress blog

Using basic coding to design your own WordPress theme or modify the one you’re using

Using templates and tags in WordPress

Installing, activating, and managing WordPress plugins

Choosing to use the multiple-site WordPress Network option to host a network of multiple blogs on your domain

Discovering the potential pitfalls associated with each version

Understanding the challenges you face when running a WordPress-powered site, such as dodging comment and trackback spam

Exploring RSS feed syndication

Migrating your existing blog to WordPress (if you are using a different blogging platform, such as Blogspot, Movable Type, or Typepad)

Discovering the power of WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) to create a full website, not just a blog

Upgrading your WordPress blog and staying up to date and informed about ongoing WordPress software development

Finding support, tips, and resources for using the WordPress software

With WordPress, you can truly tailor a blog to your own tastes and needs. All the tools are out there. Some of them are packaged with the WordPress software; others are third-party plugins and add-ons created by members of the WordPress user community. It takes a little research, knowledge, and time on your part to put together a blog that suits your needs and gives your readers an exciting experience that keeps them coming back for more.

Conventions Used in This Book

Throughout the book, I apply the following typography conventions to guide you through some of the information I present:

When I ask you to type something, the text that you’re supposed to type is in bold.

When I suggest a keyword that you may want to enter in a search engine, that term appears in italics.

Text that appears in this special font is certain to be a URL (web address), e-mail address, filename, folder name, or code.

When I use a term that I think you may not be familiar with, I apply italics to that term to let you know that I’m defining it.

In some instances, I give you a basic idea of what a web address or block of code looks like. When the text that you see may be different, depending on your settings and preferences, I apply italics to that text.

What You Are Not to Read

Read what you need and leave the rest — or pass it on to a friend.

This book covers the details of how to set up, use, and maintain the blogging tools available at WordPress.com and WordPress.org. I don’t intend for you to read this book from cover to cover (unless you’re my mother — then I won’t forgive you if you don’t). Rather, hit the Table of Contents and the Index of this book to find the information you need.

If you never intend to run a hosted WordPress blog on your own web server, you can skip Chapters 6–8.

If you have no interest in setting up a hosted blog at WordPress.com, skip Chapters 3–5.

If you aren’t interested in digging into the code of a WordPress template, and don’t want to find out how to apply CSS or HTML to enhance your design, you can skip Part V of this book (Chapters 12 and 13).

Long story short: Take what you need and leave the rest.

Foolish Assumptions

I’ll never know what assumptions you’ve made about me at this point, but I can tell you a few things that I already assume about you:

You know what a computer is. You can turn it on, and you understand that if you spill coffee on your keyboard, you’ll have to run out and get a replacement.

You understand how to hook yourself into the Internet and know the basics of using a web browser to surf websites and blogs.

You have a basic understanding of what blogs are, and you’re interested in using WordPress to start your own blog. Or you already have a blog, are already using WordPress, and want to understand the program better so that you can do more cool stuff and stop bugging your geeky best friend whenever you have a question about something. Or, even better, you already have a blog on another blogging platform and want to move your blog to WordPress.

You know what e-mail is. You know what an e-mail address is. You actually have an e-mail address, and you send and receive e-mail on a semiregular basis.

How This Book Is Organized

This book is made up of six parts that introduce you to the WordPress platform, including detailed information on two very popular versions of WordPress: the hosted version of WordPress.com and the self-hosted version of WordPress.org. Also included is detailed information on WordPress themes and templates.

Part I: Introducing WordPress

The first part gives you an overview of WordPress and the advantages of making it your blogging platform. You may think of WordPress as coming in two “flavors”: vanilla (WordPress.com hosted solution) and chocolate (WordPress.org self-hosted solution). In this part, you also discover some of the fun aspects of blogging, such as RSS feed syndication and reader interaction through comments.

Part II: Using the WordPress Hosted Service

Part II takes you through signing up with the hosted service for a blog. You tour the WordPress.com Dashboard, explore writing and managing your blog, find out how to change the various themes available in this version, and discover how to enhance your blog with widgets.

Part III: Self-Hosting with WordPress.org

Part III explores the single-user version of the WordPress software available at WordPress.org. You install this software on your own hosted web server, so I give you valuable information about domain registration, web-hosting providers, and a few of the basic tools (such as FTP) that you need to have in place before you set up a WordPress blog. I also familiarize you with the WordPress.org Dashboard, where you personalize your blog and explore many of the settings that you need to manage and maintain your WordPress-powered blog.

Part IV: Flexing and Extending WordPress

This part shows you how to add images to your pages, including how to create a photo gallery on your site. In addition, you discover how to find, install, and use various WordPress plugins to extend the functionality of your blog. This part also steps into the world of WordPress themes, showing you where to find free themes (including some that I designed at www.dummies.com/go/wordpressfd5e), as well as how to install and activate them.

Part V: Customizing WordPress

Part V takes an in-depth look at the structure of a WordPress theme by taking you through the templates and explaining the template tags each step of the way. You find information on basic CSS and HTML that helps you tweak the free theme that you’re using or even create your own theme.

If the topics covered in this part aren’t ones you’re interested in, make sure that you look to the bonus chapters at www.dummies.com/go/wordpress fd5e. There you find information on using WordPress as a Content Management System (CMS) to power a full-blown website as well as a blog. Additionally, these chapters show you how to configure the WordPress Multisite feature to allow multiple sites, which gives you the option of running a network of sites with one single installation of the WordPress software.

Part VI: The Part of Tens

The Part of Tens is in every traditional For Dummies book that you will ever pick up. This part shows you ten popular free WordPress themes that you can use to create a nice, clean look for your blog. Further, in this part you discover ten great WordPress plugins that you can use to provide your visitors (and yourself) with some great functionality.

Icons Used in This Book

Icons emphasize a point to remember, a danger to be aware of, or information that I think you may find helpful. Those points are illustrated as such:

Tips are little bits of information that you may find useful.

I use this icon to point out dangerous situations.

All geeky stuff goes here. I don’t use this icon very often, but when I do, you know you’re about to encounter technical mumbo-jumbo.

When you see this icon, read the text next to it two or three times to brand it into your brain so that you remember whatever it was that I think you need to remember.

Where to Go from Here

As I mention in the “What You Are Not to Read” section of this introduction, take what you need, and leave the rest. This book is a veritable smorgasbord of WordPress information, ideas, concepts, tools, resources, and instruction. Some of it will apply directly to what you want to do with your WordPress blog. Other parts deal with topics that you’re only mildly curious about, so you may want to skim those pages.

Also remember that this book has a couple of companion websites that I encourage you to check out:

www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/wordpress: Visit this site and find the Cheat Sheet for WordPress For Dummies, 5th Edition.

www.dummies.com/go/wordpressfd5e: The three bonus chapters that you find on this page tell you all about using WordPress as a content management system (CMS). You also find a chapter listing ten great sites that use WordPress for just that purpose. Finally, you get a chapter on how to host multiple websites, and whether and when to bring in the professionals. But that’s not all! You also find five free themes designed by me that you can use for your own site. (You’ll need the instructions from Chapter 11 to access them.)