✔ Exploring RSS feed syndication and integration with social media like Twitter and Facebook
✔ Migrating your existing website to WordPress (if you are using a different platform, such as Drupal, Movable Type, or Expression Engine)
✔ Discovering the power of WordPress as a content management system (CMS) to create a full-service website
✔ Upgrading your WordPress website and staying up to date and informed about ongoing WordPress software development
✔ Finding support, tips, and resources for using the WordPress software
With WordPress, you can truly tailor a website to your own tastes and needs. All the tools are out there. Some of them are packaged with the WordPress software; others are third-party plugins and add-ons created by members of the WordPress user community. It takes a little research, knowledge, and time on your part to put together a blog that suits your needs and gives your readers an exciting experience that keeps them coming back for more.
Foolish Assumptions
I’ll never know what assumptions you’ve made about me at this point, but I can tell you a few things that I already assume about you:
✔ You know what a computer is. You can turn it on, and you understand that if you spill coffee on your keyboard, you’ll have to run out and get a replacement.
✔ You understand how to hook yourself into the Internet and know the basics of using a web browser to surf websites.
✔ You have a basic understanding of what websites and blogs are, and you’re interested in using WordPress to start your own. Or you already have a website, are already using WordPress, and want to understand the program better so that you can do more cool stuff and stop bugging your geeky best friend whenever you have a question about something. Or, even better, you already have a website on another platform and want to move your website to WordPress.
✔ You know what email is. You know what an email address is. You actually have an email address, and you send and receive email on a semi-regular basis.
Icons Used in This Book
Icons emphasize a point to remember, a danger to be aware of, or information that I think you may find helpful. Those points are illustrated as such:
Beyond the Book
I’ve put a ton of information between the covers of this book, but you’ll find even more information at www.dummies.com, such as the following:
✔ I provide you with a Cheat Sheet at www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/wordpress that lists
● The best places to find WordPress support online.
● The basic sections of the WordPress Dashboard.
● How to locate a reliable web-hosting provider.
● Where to find some great WordPress resources online.
✔ You’ll also find helpful online articles at www.dummies.com/extras/wordpress that discuss
● Setting up a WordPress.com account.
● Changing your WordPress Dashboard layout to create your own unique work space.
● Avoiding unsafe WordPress themes.
● Great examples of ten sites that use WordPress as a full-blown content management system (as opposed to just a blog).
Where to Go from Here
This book is a veritable smorgasbord of WordPress information, ideas, concepts, tools, resources, and instruction. Some of it will apply directly to what you want to do with your WordPress blog. Other parts may deal with topics that you’re only mildly curious about, so feel free to skim (or skip) those pages.
For example, if you already have WordPress installed on your web server, you can skip Chapter 3. If you aren’t interested in digging into the code of a WordPress template, and don’t want to find out how to apply CSS or HTML to enhance your design, you can skip Chapters 9–12. If you have no interest in running more than one website with WordPress, you can skip Chapter 13.
I don’t intend for you to read this book from cover to cover (unless you’re my mother – then I won’t forgive you if you don’t). Rather, scan the Table of Contents and the Index of this book to find the information you need.
Long story short: Take what you need and leave the rest.
Part I
Introducing WordPress
In this part…
✔ Explore all WordPress has to offer.
✔ Discover the basic concepts about publishing a website with WordPress.
✔ Understand the different versions of WordPress and choose the right one for you.
✔ Get ready to use WordPress for your online publishing.
Chapter 1
What WordPress Can Do for You
In This Chapter
▶ Seeing how WordPress can benefit you
▶ Participating in the WordPress community
▶ Understanding the different versions of WordPress
In a world in which technology advances in the blink of an eye, WordPress really does make building websites easy – and free! How else can you get your content out to a potential audience of millions worldwide and spend exactly nothing? There may be no such thing as a free lunch in this world, but you can bet your bottom dollar that there are free websites and blogs. WordPress serves them all up in one nifty package.
The software’s free price tag, its ease of use, and the speed at which you can get your blog up and running are great reasons to use WordPress to power your personal blog or business website. An even greater reason is the incredibly supportive and passionate WordPress community. In this chapter, I introduce you to the WordPress software so that you can begin to discover how effective it is as a tool for creating your blog or website.
Discovering the Benefits of WordPress
I work with first-time website owners all the time – folks who are new to the idea of publishing content on the Internet. One of the questions I’m most frequently asked is “How can I run a website? I don’t even know how to code or create websites.”
Enter WordPress. You no longer need to worry