WordPress Doesn’t Byte
You Don't Need to be a Professional Geek or HTML Diva to use WordPress
You don't need any great knowledge of HTML or CSS to make and maintain a site on Blogger or WordPress.
I never learned more than a touch of code, or any more than I needed to actually use to understand the general language. It really is a language, just a bit more mathematical than you're used to with day to day English.
If I really need something I find it online and just copy and paste it in where it says to put it. There are loads of great guides on how to do more with WordPress. But, really, just find a plugin and forget it is simpler than dealing with the actual code. Why reinvent the wheel?
I've been using WordPress from the first year it existed. I don't claim to be an expert but I've got experience and common sense for whatever the experience doesn't cover. I run half a dozen sites on my own domains with WordPress.
What WordPress is and is Not
WordPress is a software which will let you create, build and run a website. Most people stick to running a blog site, but you can stretch WordPress and create a web directory, an event planner or calendar, a portfolio, landing page, community site, group published magazine, e-stores, review site, contact manager, art or photo gallery, a countdown site, private network, tumblog, lifestream, city guide, history timeline, email greeting cards, web comics, news aggregation, RSS feed reader, podcast archive, and other interesting and unique ideas. WordPress is flexible because it has a huge community of support around it. (People who create plugins, themes and user guides for free).
WordPress is not a web host. So, you have to choose to use WordPress on a web host, like WordPress.com or your own choice of web host.
WordPress.com is a web host but it is free to use. You can find other options for free web hosting for WordPress (or any site you want to create) but they come as a sub domain. This means your web address (once your site is uploaded) will be something like yourname.theirdomain.com. A sub domain web host is fine, cheaper and simpler if you don't want to get into running your own site completely. However, you will have some limits enforced by the company who own the hosting you are using. In particular, WordPress.com chooses which plugins and features of WordPress you can choose from. There is nothing wrong with using WordPress.com or Blogger or Tumblr or any other the other alternatives which you can use for free site/ blog online. Just know what the rules and limits are.
If you want to take that step and run your own site without limits or rules from a sub domain web host then you need to look at web hosts. I've been using Hosting Matters for years and am very happy with the service and support there. You might already have a web host available with the company you connect to the Internet with. If so, try them out and see what discount you can get for already being a customer.
If you choose to run WordPress on your own (on a web host) you will probably want a domain name of your own too. Think of a name which really suits you. Do not rush this step! Come up with a list of a few names which you love and must have. Then, see if any of your names are available. If so, great. If not, try alternatives. You can add the word "The" to the start of your name, for instance.
WordPress is software to create a site, but it needs to belong somewhere in order to show up for other people to visit your great creation.
PLEASE Learn to Spell WordPress Correctly
It really is WordPress -- not Wordpress or Word Press. WordPress (one word, with the camel case 'P') is the trademarked spelling. Anything else is incorrect and should be judged suspect, lacking or just lazy.
Don't buy WordPress themes, plugins or books/ ebooks from anyone who can't even spell the word correctly!!! How much can they really know and how far do you want to trust someone who hasn't even got that much figured out???
Don't Be Afraid of the Plugins
People voluntarily build plugins (free features you can add on) for WordPress. These plugins will let you run WordPress without knowing HTML or CSS. People may tell you horror stories -- but the fact is WordPress is made easy if you just take your time, don't panic and test drive a few plugins until you find the right one for what you need.
Not every plugin will work for you, as an individual or your site which is also a unique individual. You can install and uninstall plugins on WordPress. Most of the process is automated these days. Before, you would have used an FTP program to load the files to your web host and so on. Now, you just click "plugins" then "new". You can search the WordPress database for a plugin using any search term you like. Usually a load of plugins will appear. Read through the descriptions. Take a look if they offer a screenshot. (I tend to look at the screenshots before I even read the full description).
If you want to try a plugin just click "install" WordPress will do it for you. The plugin will be installed in your plugins folder on your WordPress site. You choose to active the plugin, or let it remain inactive until you have more time, patience or coffee on hand to start working on it. If you make the plugin active it will show up somewhere in the left hand sidebar on the WordPress admin dashboard. Some plugins will open with their own header/ section. Some will be in the Settings section. If you don't see the plugin right away just look again, it may not be listed with the exact same name, or a short form.
If a plugin does not work out (or should you get a dud or an error message) you can go to Plugins -- Installed Plugins, find the plugin on the list and click active. This will deactivate the plugin from your site. Now, you can leave it there or go ahead and delete it right now. The plugin needs to be deactivated before you can delete it. When you delete it WordPress will confirm that you want to delete the plugin and in seconds to minutes it will be gone.
You do need your FTP login from your web host in order to install or uninstall plugins and themes for WordPress. If you are using WordPress.com you won't have an FTP login -- this is only if you have WordPress on your own web host and domain.
Some of the WordPress Plugins I Use
The plugins, JetPack and Akismet, come with WordPress now. JetPack is from Automattic, which is a short way of saying corporate WordPress. You will find a lot already covered in JetPack. Set that up before you go plugin shopping. Everything in JetPack is designed to work well with WordPress.
Every WordPress user, past the beginner stage, likes a list of plugins. We are drawn to it like Christmas shoppers at a flea market. Usually, you should avoid any plugin which has not been actively updated. Read the information on WordPress to see when it was last updated and if it has been upgraded for at least WordPress 3 or better.
These are plugins I use, some I have used for years. They may not work as well for you. Some plugins clash with some themes or other plugins. So, this is just my personal list from my hoard of plugins.
This is like a blog within a blog. Sideblog lets you keep a running note in the sidebar of your blog. I add quotes I find online. Just set up a category to be used only with the posts for Sideblog and add the widget to your sidebar. Too bad the plugin has not been updated in a VERY long time but it still works on my site.
Another plugin which has not been updated in over 2 years. But, I run it in my sidebar faithfully. It has been great for picking up my older posts and letting them breathe again. Plus, I get a kick out of seeing what I wrote about this day in 2006 or so.
This is a great way to make use of scheduling your posts. Instead of publishing as soon as you write a post just adjust the publish date to the date you choose (ahead of time). This plugin will then keep that post on your admin dashboard where you can see it and know you have a post planned for that date. It sounds like such a small thing but it makes my life simpler when I get several ideas for posts and want to save them for a time when I hit a dry spell later.
Another inactive plugin. I like this one because it lets me add HTML code to the header of my blog without messing with the files of the site itself. Also, because the code is part of a plugin, it is always saved when I upgrade to a new version of WordPress or change to a different theme.
This plugin makes it easy to add links to anything you want to sell from Amazon, right into your blog post, with your seller ID already set up.
Subscribe / Connect / Follow Widget
Quickly add the links to all your social media profiles. This plugin will add the images and the link to a widget which you can set at the top of your sidebar (or where ever you want the widget in the sidebar).
This is mainly cosmetic but I like giving my blogs their own icon which shows up in the web browser address bar.
Yet Another Related Posts Plugin
This will display a list of posts which are related and may be interesting to readers of your site. The links will appear under the current post. Once you set up the plugin it will run on it's own.
Another plugin to show posts related to the current post being read. This one relies on the text content of the post itself. It brings different results from the other related post plugin I use. You can use them both on the same site.
You can run your own ads on your site. Trade links with a friend or just use it to link to your own sites. Get an image 125 X 125. Add the link and set a date for it to expire, or have it never expire.
This will start snow falling on your blog. A seasonal plugin. Just deactivate it when you want the snow to stop. Next year, set it to active to start the snow again.
This will help you create, manage and maintain tags with your posts. If you get lost in the clutter of tags here is help for you.
Extra Help for Creative Blog Beginners
There is always more to know beyond using the WordPress software itself. That just gives you the frame and the tools to get a site up. From there you maintain it, promote it, love it, obsess about it and get up in the morning with fresh coffee to start the process all over again.
Play with WordPress
When you get comfortable using WordPress try fiddling with themes. It's fun. You can try endless free themes from the WordPress.org site. Or, WordPress.com will give you theme options if you don't use your own web hosted version of WordPress.
You can create your own, create a child theme based on an existing theme or just add a few personal touches and tweaks to any theme you choose. Themes are uploaded and installed almost the same as plugins. If you get an error from a theme it is likely missing files, just delete it, no harm done. How you delete a theme changed recently. So, if you want to delete a theme just go to Appearance - Themes. Hover your mouse over the theme you want to delete. You will see the words "Theme Details". Click there. Now you will see more information about the theme, such as the theme's designer, the version number and the name of the theme. You can also use the buttons at the bottom to activate the theme again or have a live preview without activating it.. Or, you can delete the theme by clicking the text on the bottom right.
If you're timid about trying to make your own theme or playing around with them, create a fresh copy of the theme you like (just copy all the files and give them a different name) you will need to go through your web host to access the files. (Or you can find a blank/ dummy theme online to explore with and just load and delete it as you would for any other theme. These are sometimes called skeleton themes because they are just the bare bones for theme designers to start working on). Leave your original theme untouched. If you like your new creation, keep it. If you get lost in a mad scientist moment, or don't know what went wrong or just don't think it goes with your shoes.... just go back to your original (untouched) theme. No problem.
Get Out your Widgets
A widget is not a plugin. But, plugins can give you more widgets to play with.
Think of a WordPress widget like a little box you can put stuff into. The standard widget is the text widget. You can type in plain text to introduce yourself, leave a note for your readers, or whatever else you like. But. commonly people use the text widget like a catch all. Text widgets can take random HTML code. So, mostly they are used to place code from another site on your site. We used to link to other sites with webrings, sometimes there are blog carnivals, linky groups and other events or reasons you would add code from another site and want it to show up in the sidebar of your blog. So, use the text widget to copy and paste the HTML code and then save that little widget box.
You will find widgets in the dashboard admin under Appearance – Widgets.
On the left you will see Available Widgets. On the right you will see columns/ boxes which will say something like “Sidebar” and “Footer” or something similar. The names appearing in sidebar and footer depend on the WordPress theme you have installed. The theme will change the way widgets are sorted out in your blog. A theme controls whether you have one sidebar on the left, two sidebars on the right and so on. Some themes give you a footer and some don’t.
If you want to add a footer to your blog, look for a plugin which adds a footer. Then you will be able to add content to the widgets and place the widgets in the footer. This is the same for sidebars. You must add the content to the widget in order to place it on your site (in the case of sidebars, footers and other odd locations which you can enable widgets by using plugins or themes).
Text is the most common widget you will use to add anything to your site. However, the other widgets are even easier to deal with. They come pre-packaged! WordPress starts you out with widgets which can automatically give you an archive of your posts (Archive), categories, pages, recent posts, search and links are simple enough to figure out. Just place the widgets where you want them to show up in your sidebar(s) or footer. Some of these simple widgets need a personal touch. The archive widgets can be set to have a drop down menu or display all the dates in one long list. Make the little changes to set up the features for these widgets, place them, save them and you can almost forget about them.
If you change themes you will find your widgets get moved around. This is due to the difference in how the new theme and the old theme are set up for displaying your sidebars and footers. Don’t worry, your widgets are still there, safe. Just pick them up and set them into the new theme’s sidebars and footer.
Another nice feature of WordPress is that if you return to an old theme all your widgets will magically be back to where you left them. WordPress remembers and sorts them out for you. This is really nice when you have tried a new theme and did not like it at all. You just go to Appearance – Theme and set your old theme back and everything will be as you left it!
Plugins will give you new widgets to play with and move around your site. If you install a plugin which adds something to your sidebar you will need to set up the plugin’s widget before it can appear.
Themes... Plugins... Widgets... Oh Menus!
Confused? Read on to find out about Menus.
Menus are the new name given to what has been the navigation bar in a site or blog. In WordPress it is now called Menu and you can find it by looking in Appearance - Menus.
If you find your head spinning thinking about themes, plugins and widgets you can relax when it comes to the menu feature. It is pretty simple once you understand what it does and how to set it up. Once you do set up your menu it is done and only needs to be updated if you want to add more information to the navigation (that top part of your site which has the link to your About page and another link back to the start of your blog).
You can add quite a lot more to the menu than a link to your About page and the link back home again. Start by making an About page, explain what your site is about and a bit about who you are. Add a photo or an avatar (comic icon) of yourself and contact information - like social media links.
Once your About page is done, save it. You will find the Page feature (it is not the same as a blog post) back on the admin dashboard, it's just called Pages. Now, go back to the Menus screen and click "create a new menu". Give this menu a name. It may be the only menu you ever create but WordPress still wants you to name it.
You will see two sides to the Menu set up now: Pages and Menu Structure.
Menu Structure will show you the menu as you save each link you are adding. The whole menu still needs to be saved once you are finished so don't assume it is saved just because you have a preview of it.
Start on the Pages side and notice your options: Pages, Links and Categories. Pages will list any pages you have written and saved. You can just check the box for the About page to add it to the menu you are creating. Click Links and you will see the option to add any link you choose, from outside your own site or maybe a particular post you have made and want to highlight in the menu at the top of your site. The next option is Categories - these are the categories which you can create as you write posts for your site. The Categories feature lets you highlight a special (or any) category just as you could do with the link to a post in your blog. Give them a test and see how they work. You can delete them or edit them later.
When you have the pages, links and/ or categories settled you can move to the preview of your menu on the Menu Structure side. If you don't want all those links appearing in a line across the top of your site, move them. This is called drag and drop, you have used it on other sites. With WordPress you can move your menu items up, down and relocate them under each other, stacking them to open under each other. For instance, you could stack all your pages under the original Home menu item. When you save this and look at your site you wil only see Home in the menu bar. If you move your mouse to it there will be a drop down menu which contains all your other menu items whether they are pages, links or categories.
One important thing which you need to do before your menu will show up is to look at the top of the menu options where it says Edit Menu and Manage Locations. First, save your menu, if you have not already. Then click Manage Locations. All you need to do is tell WordPress you want this menu to show up. Set the Primary Menu to the name you gave your menu, then save that information. Done.
Some WordPress themes will give you the option to have more than one menu. If you have a theme with that option you will be able to set a secondary menu in the same way, but make sure you tell WordPress about it in Manage Locations.
Categories and Tags
WordPress gives you the option of using both categories and tags with your blog posts. This may seem confusing. You can choose to use neither categories or tags. You can ignore them for awhile and then set them up later (but do it before you have hundreds of posts to go back and add the information to). Or, you can choose to use just categories or just tags. It depends on how you want to be able to find and sort your posts for your readers (and yourself).
I think of categories like the index in a non-fiction book. I use categories like an index to the general content and topics I write about. You can add subcategories (just add a category to a parent category). So categories can work well to give you a break down on several topics/ niches you cover in your site.
You might write about knitting and use categories to label posts for: baby booties, holiday projects, winter wear, etc. General topics which a reader might want to jump to and see what you have for that category.
If you use tags… I think of tags as taking it a bit farther and going in depth. This means tags are more time consuming to manage and possibly more trouble than they are worth if you have a lot of them and end up using different phrases for the same tag. Like Christmas stockings and Xmas stockings. Tags can be great, or a big mess.
I suggest you either skip using tags or save them for small projects, items which come up once a year or something else you won’t be using for a lot of posts in your blog. A tag could be used to link all your posts about Christmas baby booties, for instance. Or, the annual knitters convention you attended and are helping to plan next year. I have chosen not to use tags at all. Not because I don’t like them but, I just found them too much of a task to manage as my blogs grew and aged.
In 2013 WordPress Became Ten Years Old
WordPress Themes to Get Started With
WordPress comes with themes. You don't need to even look at other themes unless you get itchy shopping fingers. Even so, you can window shop looking at a LOT of free themes on the WordPress site. Some are hit or miss, avoid themes which have not been updated to run with WordPress 3 and beyond.
Studio Press: Genesis Framework
This is a popular WordPress theme. However, it is not so user friendly for beginners and you will likely want to buy a child theme to go along with the Genesis framework. which is also not free.
I really like the look of this theme and I used it for years. It is free. However, it is not as actively updated as I would like (this happens with some free themes and plugins because web developers have bills to pay too). The set up is a bit advanced for a beginner but there is a decent guide to help you along and... it's not by accident that this was my favourite theme for years.
This is where I get my WordPress themes now. The free themes are great, quite simple to set up and if you want more features you can buy the pro version. If you are starting out a WordPress site you will be fine with the free themes. Magazine Basic was the first theme I tried here, a few years ago. Now my favourite is Acrcade with Ward a runner up.