WordPress

601 Pages·2013·221.42 MB·English

by  Janet Majure

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Credits
Acquisitions Editor Senior Project Coordinator
Aaron Black Kristie Rees
Project Editor Graphics and Production Specialists
Lynn Northrup Ana Carrillo
Andrea Hornberger
Technical Editor
Jennifer Mayberry
Donna Baker
Quality Control Technician
Copy Editor
Jessica Kramer
Kim Heusel
Proofreading
Editorial Director
Evelyn Wellborn
Robyn Siesky
Indexing
Business Manager
BIM Indexing & Proofreading Services
Amy Knies
Senior Marketing Manager
Sandy Smith
Vice President and Executive
Group Publisher
Richard Swadley
Vice President and Executive
Publisher
Barry Pruett
About the Author
Janet Majure is an author, writer, and editor with more than 30 years in
the publishing industry. She writes or has written for WordPress blogs
(individual blog Foodperson.com and group blog Ethicurean.com) as
well as two business sites using WordPress (Janetmajure.com and
Givemestrength.net). She also has written and edited books, newsletters,
and articles for daily newspapers, and edited technical white papers.
Author’s Acknowledgments
The author gratefully acknowledges the WordPress community, which has
made this remarkable software available, as well as the ongoing support of
family and friends. In particular, she thanks friend, neighbor, colleague,
and agent Neil Salkind; Acquisitions Editor Aaron Black; Project Editor
Lynn Northrup; Technical Editor Donna Baker; and previous Project Editor
Sarah Hellert.
How to Use This Book
Who This Book Is For 3 Icons and Buttons
This book is for the reader who has never used this Icons and buttons show you exactly what you need to
particular technology or software application. It is click to perform a step.
also for readers who want to expand their knowledge. 4 Tips
The Conventions in This Book Tips offer additional information, including warnings
and shortcuts.
1 Steps
5 Bold
This book uses a step-by-step format to guide you
Bold type shows command names or options that you
easily through each task. Numbered steps are actions
must click or text or numbers you must type.
you must do; bulleted steps clarify a point, step, or
optional feature; and indented steps give you the 6 Italics
result.
Italic type introduces and defines a new term.
2 Notes
Notes give additional information — special
conditions that may occur during an operation, a
situation that you want to avoid, or a cross-reference
to a related area of the book.
CHAPTER
3
Buy a Domain Setting Up Your WordPress.org Blog
If you are self-hosting your blog, you likely will want to buy a domain name to make it easier for 4 Click the domain name you
Youre caadne rbs utyo af idnodm yaoiun. nYaomu em faryo mw aannty tnou bmubye or noef froegr iast Wraorsr daPsr eas sst.ce6opm in bdleopge, ntdoeon.t of your hosting wtoa nt )to. register3 ( changes
decision. However, web hosts often will register domains and give their customers a price break on B The domain also appears on
the service. Therefore, if you are planning an independent blog, you may want to choose a web host the right side of the screen
before registering your domain. usenldeecrt Ymouulrt iCpalert .d oYomua imnsa yi f
you want.
Buy a Domain 5 After you select all the
1 1 Go to www.name.com in your dcloicmka Cinhse ycokuo uwta.nt to register,
web browser.
Note: This site is one of many
2 where you can search for and buy
domains. Your web host may give
you a discounted price. A new web page opens.
2 Type the name of your proposed 6 Review the information on
domain in the box. the confirmation page.
3 Click Search or press . 5 7 ICfr eyaotue aarne sAactcisofuiendt,. click
A Domains with the name you
searched appear at the top of the The window expands to
page. Those already registered let you type registration
are marked Taken (Backorder). information. Complete it,
Premium domains are registered and then click Continue.
to someone else who is selling Proceed through the
them at premium prices. remaining screens until
Choosing Backorder means your registration and
Name.com will try to snag the purchase are complete.
domain for you when its
registration expires. 4 TIPS
Suggested alternative domain Do I have to buy a domain name? If the domain name I want is already taken, can I get a
nthaem peas gaep.pear farther down on NUoR.L Iwf iyllo ub ed yoo nuor tw, ehbo wheovset’rs, dyooumra in sOinmlyi lyaor uo ncaen, bduetc iadse .. iAn f.oin fion sdtoemada ionf s .hcooumld? function just fine.
If none of the available or and directory listing, such as You may need to make an extra effort to promote the site and
suggested domain names www.webhost.com/myweblog, or make clear the address to avoid confusion with the .com
satisfies you, repeat Steps 2 it could be a subdomain such as domain. People in the future may be less likely to assume an
and 3 until you find one myweblog.webhost.com. address ends in .com with the launch in 2013 of a whole array
you want. of new domains.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1 Planning Your WordPress Site
Understanding WordPress and Blog Terms ....................4
Choose a Blog Topic .................................................6
Plan Your Blog’s Content ...........................................8
Research Blog Titles ............................................... 10
Research Domain Names ......................................... 12
Think Ahead about Passwords .................................. 14
Get to Know WordPress Types .................................. 15
Look Closer at WordPress.org ................................... 16
Look Closer at WordPress.com .................................. 18
Sign Up at Gravatar.com ......................................... 20
Chapter 2 Setting Up Your WordPress.com Blog
Sign Up with WordPress.com .................................... 24
View Your New Blog ............................................... 28
Get to Know Your Blog’s Dashboard .......................... 30
Understanding the WordPress.com Admin Bar............. 32
Understanding the WordPress.com Home Page ........... 34
Create Your WordPress.com Profile ............................ 36
Select Your General Settings .................................... 38
Consider Premium WordPress.com Options ................. 40
Buy a Domain at WordPress.com ............................... 42
Map a Domain to WordPress.com .............................. 44
Choose Your Personal Settings ................................. 46
Make Your Site Private ............................................ 48
Add Viewers to Private Blogs ................................... 50
Chapter 3 Setting Up Your WordPress.org Blog
Choose a Host for Your Blog .................................... 54
Buy a Domain ........................................................ 56
Install WordPress via Your Host’s Automatic
Installation ....................................................... 58
Get an FTP Application for Manual Installation ........... 60
Download WordPress Software .................................. 62
Set Up the MySQL Database ..................................... 64
Upload the WordPress Files ...................................... 66
Complete the Configuration and Installation .............. 68
Troubleshoot Installation Errors ............................... 70
Create the Configuration File ................................... 72
Log On to Your Blog’s Dashboard .............................. 76
Review the Welcome Module .................................... 78
Get to Know the Dashboard ..................................... 80
Understanding the Admin Bar .................................. 81
Customize and Navigate the Dashboard ..................... 82
Set Your General Settings ........................................ 84
Create Your Profile ................................................. 86
About Privacy Settings ........................................... 88
Select Your Search Engine Visibility .......................... 89
Set the Permalinks Structure .................................... 90
Understanding Other Settings .................................. 91
Chapter 4 Creating Written Content
Understanding Pages and Posts ................................ 94
Review the Writing Settings .................................... 96
Get to Know the New Post Page ............................... 98
Introducing the Visual Editor and Toolbar .................100
Table of Contents
Introducing the Text Editor and Toolbar ...................102
Understanding Categories and Tags .........................104
Create and Edit Categories .....................................106
Create and Edit Tags ..............................................110
Write and Publish Your First Blog Post .....................112
Apply Categories to Posts .......................................114
Apply Tags to Posts ...............................................118
Recall an Earlier Version of Your Blog Post ................120
Write and Publish a Page .......................................122
Edit or Delete What You Write .................................124
Add Formatting to Your Text ...................................126
Add Text Hyperlinks to Your Post or Page .................128
Paste Text from Other Sources ................................130
Using the More Option to Break Your Posts in Two .....132
Convert Categories and Tags ...................................134
Chapter 5 Creating Visual and Audio Content
Consider Media Issues ...........................................138
Understanding Display and Image Dimensions ...........140
Review Media Settings ...........................................141
Prepare Images for Uploading .................................142
Upload and Insert an Image While Posting ...............144
Edit an Image While Uploading ...............................148
Format an Image from the Edit Image Window ..........150
Add Images to the Media Library .............................152
Insert Images from Web Sources .............................154
Using Images to Enhance Posts ...............................156
Add a Caption to an Image .....................................158
Wrap Text Around an Image ...................................160