how to start a blog at wordpress

How to start a blog at

Tutorial slideshow by Laura Hedgecock

http://www.treasurechestofmemories.com

© Laura Hedgecock 2013

.com

http://www.treasurechestofmemories.com/

The first step really is the easiest.

Go to http://wordpress.com.


http://wordpress.com/

.

Next,

Click on

the “Get

Started”

button.


WordPress walks you through the

next steps. Enter your email address

and choose a unique username and

password.

[email protected]: If the

username

you’ve chosen

is already taken,

there will be an

“x” instead of a

check and you’ll

get a message.


“Blog Address” requires some

thought. It should be easy to

remember and have some sort of

logical connection to the title of your

blog.


Again, you’ll get an error message if the address

has already been claimed.

Unless you buy a domain name your

blog address will be

xxxx.wordpress.com. Think carefully

about what you want the first part to be.

It should be something easy (logical?)

for others to remember.

Once you’ve established your blog

address, Wordpress will let you know

your options for buying a domain name.

If you really love your blog name or you

think it might have wide-spread use later,

it’s worth considering.

Reallygoodname


Reallygoodname

You can buy the domain name later, too,

so you don’t have to decide right away.

If you’re ok with the Wordpress url, (the

address that contains wordpress.com)

press “No thanks, I’ll use the free

address.” to continue.


Next you’ll be instructed to look for an

email with an activation link.

When you get it, it will look something like

this:

Click on “Activate Blog,” This will take

you back to your blog setup.


“Step 1: Set up your blog” will help

you set up what appears on the

header of your blog page.

Excellent Blog Title

Subtitle

Your “tagline” is basically a sub-

title. You can leave this empty,

or add it later © Laura Hedgecock 2013

Now you get to choose what your

blog will look like. Wordpress has

many themes to choose from.

You can change your mind later, so don’t

stress out too much about this now.


After you have chosen a theme,

you’ll have to option to customize

it.


By “customize” Wordpress means

tweak the colors, etc. Be aware, there

is usually a cost associated with this.

If you’re just starting out, I suggest

familiarizing yourself with the rest of

the dashboard before delving too

deeply into the design.


Now you’re ready to add content


You can click on text to begin

adding content or you can click on

“Finish” to go to your

“Dashboard.” For this tutorial,

we’ll learn about the dashboard

first.


Choose “Blog Admin” under your

new blog’s name.

My blog


The Dashboard

© Laura Hedgecock 2013-

2014

In my opinion,

when you’re

getting started,

it’s easiest to

work with what

WordPress.co

m calls the

“Classic

Dashboard.”

The Dashboard


Update: WordPress now calls this the Classic Dashboard

“Right Now”

“Right now” gives

you an overview

of your blog

content. It tells

you how many

pages, posts, and

tags you have

created, as well

as the status of

comments about

your pages and

posts.

This box helps you navigate around

your homepage of the dashboard.


Store is where you can buy things

such as premium themes and domain

names.


This part of your

dashboard governs

how you add content

to your site.


This part of your

dashboard manages

how your content

will appear to your

readers.

Adding Content to Your Site


Post vs. Page

Pages have a static design. When

you add your content, you determine

what goes on top, etc. The “About”

page is a classic example of a page.

Posts, on the other hand, are normally

displayed in reverse chronological

order, i.e., the most recent content

displays at the top. (You can change

this though.)© Laura Hedgecock 2013

The dialogue that you use for new

pages and posts are similar. Let’s start

with an “About” page.


The dialogue that you use for new

pages and posts are similar. Let’s start

with an “About” page.

Hover your

mouse

over

“Pages”

and click

on “Add

New”


Start with adding a title, in the upper

box. Next introduce your blog in the

text area.


The tools area are very similar to Word

tools. If you hover you mouse over

them, you’ll get a description.


This is how it looks in WordPress’s new

dashboard.


To add a photo, sound recording or

other media, click on the “Add Media”

button.


To add a photo, sound recording or

other media, click on the “Add Media”

button.

To add hyperlinks, highlight text. The

“link” icons will appear.


When you’re ready to publish your page,

click “Update.”


Let’s get oriented around the

Dashboard…

Posts shows you a listing of your

posts. You also find options for

adding posts or loading a list by

category or tag there.


Media shows you a library of all

the media you’ve uploaded.


Links generates a “Blog Roll” on

your sidebar. To add links, click

on add new.


Pages gives you a listing of all

the pages you’ve drafted or

published.


Comments lets you see comments

you’re received. You can approve

them, mark them as spam, delete

them, and reply.


Feedbacks let you see

responses to polls you’ve

published. …

You can set up polls through

Settings Polls. You will need

a Poll Daddy account.


Appearance has several

options: • Themes takes you to a

selection of themes.

• Customize lets you

tweak your theme,

changing colors or

fonts.

• Widgets are options for

your sidebar.

• Header allows your to

upload a custom header

image.

• Background allows

you to upload your own

background image.

• Custom Design lets

you opt for a custom

design.

• Mobile lets you set the

options for mobile © Laura Hedgecock 2013

To add a widget to your side bar you simply

drag and drop them into the “Sidebar” box on

the right.


Make sure you enable the mobile theme so your

site renders well on mobile devices.


If you still need help….

• Use WordPress’ Support

Forums

• Google your issue.

Chances are that

someone else has already

encountered it and the

answer is posted. © Laura Hedgecock 2013

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