How to start a Wordpress blog on your own website

Wordpress is one of the leading blogging platforms currently available. It is used by large corporations and individual bloggers because of its ease-of-use and customization features.

Wordpress has two separate domains. The first is Wordpress.com where anyone who wants to start blogging for free can sign up and start immediately. A blogger does not have to purchase his own website domain or pay for hosting. The main drawback is that this domain does not allow for monetization through advertising and affiliate links. Wordpress.org is the answer for most bloggers.

The first step (if it has not already been done) is to register a domain name. Many sites offer registering (purchasing) as a service. Then, a hosting provider needs to be selected and then a hosting package that supports Wordpress needs to be chosen. As Wordpress has been around for quite some time, most hosts will have a program that will install the code into the website files. Installation can be done by the blogger, but it is time consuming and overly detailed. There really is no reason to have to do it oneself.

Once Wordpress has been installed, the blogger needs to login. In many cases the login location will be the site address followed by '/wp-login.php'. If the blog is not going to be on the front page of the website and will be reached via a link somewhere on the site, the blogger will need to create a folder in his file listing that will hold all the Wordpress files. Most sites will prompt the blogger to make that decision at the the time of installation. If the blog is on a separate page then the login address will be the site address followed by '/filename/wp-login.php'.

As part of the installation process a blogger will determine a user name and password. This username will be classifed as 'admin' and by logging in under this name, the user can change any and all aspects of the blog. Other user names can be created that will control the actions the user can make. This is an excellent feature to allow others to post without be concerned that they will change an important feature.

The hosting provider will have designated a default design for the blog. The design is called a theme. Many themes for the Wordpress platform exist. Some are free and some can be purchased. If none of the themes that are currently available fit a blogger's needs, he can design his own or have a qualified graphic designer design one for him.

Wordpress.org has many free themes listed under the 'Extend' link at the top of the website. The detailed themes directory shows hundreds of options that can be searched. Many theme pages will give information and sample pages to help visualize the final outcome. If these themes are not appropriate, searching 'wordpress themes' in Google or Yahoo will return thousands of pages of theme possibilities. Again, they could be free or for purchase.

Once a theme has been selected (assuming that the default theme from the hosting site is not acceptable) the blogger will login to the Wordpress Dashboard and either select the 'change theme' button or go down to 'Appearance' tab on the left sidebar and select 'add new themes'. It is possible to search for a theme from this section by selecting the requirements including how many sidebars the blog has and the color scheme. If the theme needs to be uploaded, it is best to download the theme (usually in a zipped file) to one's computer and then upload it from that location. This will insure that a copy of the original files are available if and when something gets published incorrectly or corrupted.

Once the file is uploaded, the theme needs to be selected as the theme to use. All the uploaded themes can be seen by selecting 'Themes' under 'Appearance'. By clicking 'activate' the new theme will appear at the top as the 'Current Theme'.

The blogger can then publish his first post as well as make changes to the look of his blog by adding widgets and rearranging elements.

This is a series of hubpages on 'How to use Wordpress'. Please return to read the next installation.