subject: How To Use Wordpress - The Installation [print this page] Wordpress is probably the easiest to use content management system around, period. It is never been easier to set up a professional looking, full feature, SEO friendly blog that Google has a love affair with. Learning how to use Wordpress is pretty much a snap because you are not going to have to learn html or any kind of code. Once you install Wordpress all you need to do is focus on creating great content, click the publish button and your post and you are live on the web.
Okay it is a little more involved than that but not much.
If you have ever thought about building a website then you have probably heard of WordPress already. It is hands down the best and easiest way to build a website. This open source (that means FREE) platform is designed for the non-techies of the world and is so easy to use that you can have your first website up and running within a couple of hours.
If you know how to type and use a mouse then you can use WordPress.
The magic behind Wordpress that makes it so powerful and appealing are the vast array of plugins available that give it its functionality and optimization. What might take you a couple days on a HTML site is done in a matter of minutes on WordPress. The automatic features not only make your site SEO friendly but it saves you a ton of time. Also Google loves WordPress for its ease of use and spider friendly system and keyword heavy meta tags that allow it to quickly recognize keywords. When you make a search engine like Google happy it rewards you with fast indexing of your site and great rankings for your keywords.
While the platform is free, the best way to use Wordpress is to build a site on a domain name that you own. Domains cost about $10 to $15 per year. GoDaddy.com is a popular place to purchase domains but there are other sites you can use like Namecheap.com. Once you have a name you are going to need a hosting service and you are going to want one that provides you with a cPanel dashboard.
There are tons of hosting services, some good some not so much, and the price range can run from free to $40 a month. When selecting a hosting service, check to see what kind of tech support they offer. Is it by email or chat? Hop long does it take to get a response? Having a hosting service that can help you in real time goes a long way in reducing the frustration factor.
So once you have your domain and a hosting service that provides a cPanel, you will want to install WordPress. Once you are in your C panel, simply scroll down until you find the icon for Fantastico De Luxe (it looks like a big smiley face). Open Fantastico and on the left menu you will see Wordpress. Click on that.
A WordPress menu will come up and you want to click - new installation. This will bring up a screen that asks the name of the site, what directory you want to save it in (just leave it blank) and asks for a user name and password. Next you just need to click install WordPress and you have yourself a new website. You will be asked if you want an email with your password and user name sent. That is a really good idea because the most embarrassing thing that can happen is you forget the URL to your Wordpress Dashboard.
And that is it. That is all there is to installing Wordpress. Now you are ready to choose a theme, clean up the default post, create categories add plugins and post your first entry. Welcome to the world of Wordpress.
