WordPress is the most popular publishing platform. The content management system found in WordPress is very exclusive, and hosting for WordPress comes with various options. It includes managed WordPress hosting, dedicated, VPS, free and shared. The blogging platform consists of very detailed information that even experienced individuals cannot remember them all. These step-by-step guidelines are provided below for bloggers that are interested in starting a WordPress blog;
Step 1 – Installation of the WordPress Software
Download and unzip the WordPress application to your computer from their official website http://wordPress.org/download
For those hosting with WordPress provider, always have a database already set up. If you don’t have a WordPress database, you will be required to build it manually. If you need to implement hosting for WordPress, supplying the Plesk control panel, the following procedure is followed: – Log in to your Plesk account.
- Log in to your Plesk account.
- Click on the Databases button found at the custom website section at the website and domain page.
- Click on the Add New Database. Here you are also provided with the option of changing the database name if you wish. You can do this by entering your credentials then clicking ok button.
For those hosting with a WordPress provider, the guidelines to creating your username and database include:-
- Logging into your cPanel account.
- Click on the MySQL Database Wizard option located in the Databases category.
- Put your Database name in “step 1. Create a Database” and click on the next button
- Type in your username and a strong password in the “step 2 create Database users”.
- Select the “all privileges” checkbox in “step 3. Add user to Database”.
- Complete the process in “step four completes the task”.
Step 2 – Selection of Plug-ins
WordPress’ Plugins are designed to offer features that enable each blogger to modify their site the way that suite their individual interests. They can be sourced from various sources, the most popular and safe site is the WordPress.org repo, the official WordPress’ Plugins Repository. Plugins can also be found in the Administration Screens>Plugins>Add New Screen. There are default Plugins that are included in the WordPress website, these include:
Akismet
It analyzes comments on your blog against the Akismet website service to check whether they are a spam. The Akismet plugin is designed to automatically delete all spam after a period of 15 days. You can view the spam messages detected by Akismet by clicking on the “manage” button.
Hello Dolly
It is the most recognized and official WordPress’ plugin. “Hello Dolly” lyric will be shown in the top right corner of your Administration Panel when Hello Dolly plugin is enabled.
The following steps can be followed when installing Plugins
- Open Plugins, and then click “Add New”.
- Enter the name of the WordPress’ plugin you would wish to install, the author of that plugin, or check the “search Plugins” box and tag your plugin of interest.
- After searching the WordPress’ plugin, and you want to install, click on “Details” to get more details concerning the particular plugin and the guidelines for setting up the plugin you would wish to save.
- Proceed to “install now” to be able to finalize the installation process.
- It will be followed by a presentation on the screen notifying you whether the installation process was successful or some problems were encountered during the installation.
- If the process was successful, click on the “Activate plug-in” button to make it active. If you wish you can also go back to “Return to Plug-in Installer” to get more directions.
Step 3 – Setting up the User Profile
Setting up a user profile is a critical step that one must put into consideration. The data contained in the user profile is usually available to the public depending on one’s theme. The steps involved in setting up your user profile include clicking on the “user” link, then go to “your profile” contained in the sidebar.
Step 4 – Settings Adjustments
Bloggers are given the options to select the way they want to display their content. It is done through the adjustments done in the settings. Many options are provided for one to be able to make adjustments, they include:
General settings:
The screen enables you to provide your blog with a name. You are also capable of altering the taglines to your blogs by making changes in the general section. Verification of your email address can also be done here for you to be able to get notifications from WordPress via email. The date and time formats are also verified from the general settings.
Reading settings:
The reading screen enables you to change your blog homepage into a static one or to be displaying a new content whenever you make a new posting. It is recommended to make your homepage display new posts whenever you post them. It is advised that the number of blog posts shown at most be five, this enables a faster loading when posting a new blog. For each article in the feed, you should select post summaries instead of a full text.
Discussion:
You can make adjustments on the interactions with your readers. Through this screen, you can allow or disallow people to make comments on your blogs. You are also able to make an adjustment on link notification coming from other blogs. There is also the option of notifying other blogs that are linked to from the article. The discussion screen makes it simple for you to decide whether you want people to comment on your blog posts or not by simply checking or unchecking the box provided. You are also able to decide on whether to be notified through emails whenever one posts a comment. You can also allow the administrator to approve a comment before it becomes public or allow only readers with a previous approval to be making comments on your blog posts. All these procedures are done through the checking or unchecking of the boxes provided.
Permalinks:
The format recommended for your WordPress site permalink is posted name. It is important for your readers browsing through your site and also it is great for your site SEO.
Those are the key adjustments you are required to make to any new blog post on your WordPress account. By following the guide keenly, you will be able to start blogging on your WordPress blog.
