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.

WordPress started out a tool for blogging. Authors, students, parents, business owners, academics, journalists, hobbyists — you name it — use blogs as a matter of course. Over the past decade, WordPress has emerged as the premier content management system available on the Internet today. WordPress software currently powers 25 percent of the websites you see on the World Wide Web — that means 1 in every 4 websites you run across are powered by WordPress.

Today, WordPress is so much more than a blogging tool. Individuals, organizations, and corporations are using WordPress to build their entire web presence. WordPress has grown into a valuable solution for everything from selling products on the Internet to membership sites, blogging, media — pretty much anything you think you can do with your website can be accomplished with WordPress.

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 WordPress and covers managing and maintaining your WordPress-powered website through the use of plugins, themes, and using the intuitive WordPress Dashboard to manage your content. If you’re interested in taking a detailed look at the website-building tool 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 website. In this book, I cover the software package available at https://wordpress.org by highlighting all the important topics, such as these:

• Locating good hosting services for the software
• Installing and setting up the WordPress software
• Navigating the WordPress Dashboard
• Adding media files to your website
• Finding and installing free themes to use in your WordPress website
• 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 websites on your domain
• Discovering the potential pitfalls associated with WordPress
• Understanding the challenges you face when running a WordPress-powered site, such as dodging comment and trackback spam
• Exploring RSS feed syndication and integration with social media like Twitter and Facebook
• Migrating your existing website to WordPress (if you are using a different platform, such as Drupal, Movable Type, or Expression Engine)
• Discovering the power of WordPress as a content management system (CMS) to create a full-service website
• Upgrading your WordPress website 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 website 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.

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.
• You have a basic understanding of what websites and blogs are, and you’re interested in using WordPress to start your own. Or you already have a website, 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 website on another platform and want to move your website to WordPress.
• You know what email is. You know what an email address is. You actually have an email address, and you send and receive email on a semi-regular basis.

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.

Beyond the Book

I’ve put a ton of information between the covers of this book, but you’ll find even more information at www.dummies.com, such as the following:

• I provide you with a Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/wordpress that lists
  • The best places to find WordPress support online.
  • The basic sections of the WordPress Dashboard.
  • How to locate a reliable web-hosting provider.
  • Where to find some great WordPress resources online.
• You’ll also find helpful online articles at www.dummies.com/extras/wordpress that discuss
  • Setting up a WordPress.com account.
  • Changing your WordPress Dashboard layout to create your own unique work space.
  • Avoiding unsafe WordPress themes.
  • Great examples of ten sites that use WordPress as a full-blown content management system (as opposed to just a blog).

Where to Go from Here

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 may deal with topics that you’re only mildly curious about, so feel free to skim (or skip) those pages.

For example, if you already have WordPress installed on your web server, you can skip Chapter 3. 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 Chapters 9–12. If you have no interest in running more than one website with WordPress, you can skip Chapter 13.

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, scan the Table of Contents and the Index of this book to find the information you need.

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