How to Create a Wordpress Blog
Decide if WordPress-hosting is right for you., Create an account., Choose your settings., Change the theme., Customize the theme., Add widgets., Create your first post.
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Decide if WordPress-hosting is right for you.
If you’d like a place to post your content online, then a WordPress.com account may be what you are looking for.
WordPress does all of the coding and hosting, and all you have to do is upload your content.
You cannot make money from ads if you use WordPress.com.
If you want to run your ads on your blog, you’ll need to host the site yourself.
See the following section for details. -
Step 2: Create an account.
You will need to enter a valid email address, create a username and password, and come up with your blog’s web address.
If you want to create a free blog, your site name will be <yoursitename>.wordpress.com.
You can choose more direct URLs for a yearly fee, including .com, .net, .org, and more.
The process varies depending on the extension you want. , Once you’ve created your account, you will be taken to your new blog’s Dashboard.
This is where you control the look and feel of your new blog.
Click the Settings button in the left menu of the Dashboard.
Set your title.
Your Site Title is what appears at the top of your blog and in the title bar of the web browser.
Set the title to whatever you want.
Changing your title will not change your blog’s address.
Set your tagline.
A tagline is a quick description of your blog.
Some themes will display it beneath the title, and some browsers will list it in the title bar after the title.
Set your email.
The email address you list is where all of your comment moderation emails are sent to.
Set your blog’s timezone.
The default timezone is for London, so set the timezone to your local time.
Set your date and time format.
The date and time format will change the way the date and time is displayed next to your blog posts and comments. , By default, your blog will use the standard WordPress theme.
You can change the theme by clicking the Appearance menu in your Dashboard and then selecting Themes.
You can browse through a large selection of themes that are available to install on your blog for free or for purchase. , Once you have a theme picked out, you can customize it by clicking the Customize button in the Themes section of the Dashboard.
Here you can change the colors, header images, backgrounds, and more. , Widgets allow you to add tools to your sidebar that connect to information from other sources.
For example, you can include a Twitter widget which will show all of your recent Twitter posts in your WordPress blog.
Click Appearance in your Dashboard and select Widgets.
Drag the widget that you want to install from the Available widgets section to the portion of your blog that you want it to appear.
Click the arrow button next to the widget to open its configuration options. , Open your Dashboard and select the Posts option from the menu.
Click the Add New button to open the post creation screen.Give your post a title that catches the eye and invites the reader in.
Write a welcome post to open your blog.
Let readers know what you intend to accomplish by writing a blog, and any plans you have for content. -
Step 3: Choose your settings.
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Step 4: Change the theme.
-
Step 5: Customize the theme.
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Step 6: Add widgets.
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Step 7: Create your first post.
Detailed Guide
If you’d like a place to post your content online, then a WordPress.com account may be what you are looking for.
WordPress does all of the coding and hosting, and all you have to do is upload your content.
You cannot make money from ads if you use WordPress.com.
If you want to run your ads on your blog, you’ll need to host the site yourself.
See the following section for details.
You will need to enter a valid email address, create a username and password, and come up with your blog’s web address.
If you want to create a free blog, your site name will be <yoursitename>.wordpress.com.
You can choose more direct URLs for a yearly fee, including .com, .net, .org, and more.
The process varies depending on the extension you want. , Once you’ve created your account, you will be taken to your new blog’s Dashboard.
This is where you control the look and feel of your new blog.
Click the Settings button in the left menu of the Dashboard.
Set your title.
Your Site Title is what appears at the top of your blog and in the title bar of the web browser.
Set the title to whatever you want.
Changing your title will not change your blog’s address.
Set your tagline.
A tagline is a quick description of your blog.
Some themes will display it beneath the title, and some browsers will list it in the title bar after the title.
Set your email.
The email address you list is where all of your comment moderation emails are sent to.
Set your blog’s timezone.
The default timezone is for London, so set the timezone to your local time.
Set your date and time format.
The date and time format will change the way the date and time is displayed next to your blog posts and comments. , By default, your blog will use the standard WordPress theme.
You can change the theme by clicking the Appearance menu in your Dashboard and then selecting Themes.
You can browse through a large selection of themes that are available to install on your blog for free or for purchase. , Once you have a theme picked out, you can customize it by clicking the Customize button in the Themes section of the Dashboard.
Here you can change the colors, header images, backgrounds, and more. , Widgets allow you to add tools to your sidebar that connect to information from other sources.
For example, you can include a Twitter widget which will show all of your recent Twitter posts in your WordPress blog.
Click Appearance in your Dashboard and select Widgets.
Drag the widget that you want to install from the Available widgets section to the portion of your blog that you want it to appear.
Click the arrow button next to the widget to open its configuration options. , Open your Dashboard and select the Posts option from the menu.
Click the Add New button to open the post creation screen.Give your post a title that catches the eye and invites the reader in.
Write a welcome post to open your blog.
Let readers know what you intend to accomplish by writing a blog, and any plans you have for content.
About the Author
Karen Morales
Writer and educator with a focus on practical home improvement knowledge.
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