Why WordPress Rocks

So let's try and start with the basics. I'm going to assume you don't know much about this stuff, at the same time I'm not going to explain every single detail.

First off, there's 2 different types of WordPress.

1. WordPress.com

This is where you can start a blog like "yourname.wordpress.com" and not have to worry about any of the installation or anything. The problem is that you're somewhat restricted on what you can do.

2. WordPress.org (what we're talking about)

This is the software that you install yourself, maintain yourself, and customize yourself. Much more freedom and it's free to download and use.

WordPress runs on a LAMP system. LAMP Stands for...
L- Linux
A- Apache
M- Mysql
P- PHP

So when you go find web hosting, you need a system that runs like that (most do).

Now I'd like to give you a list of links with further information on getting started with WordPress.

So hopefully at this point you're able to install WordPress and get something going. Now we are going to talk about themes, plugins, and the basic administration of WordPress.

Basic Administration

1. Dashboard

The dashboard is the first page you see when you get to the admin area. It has some basic stats on your site, like number of comments, number of posts, latest posts, etc.

2. Write

You can write either a post or a page. A post is for the blog and has a date and a category (which you assign). A page is static and is useful for an About page, Contact page or similar.

3. Manage

Here you can manage your posts, pages, categories, uploads and files. You can also import and export blog posts from other blog applications.

4. Comments

Moderate comments left by your visitors.

5. Blogroll

Basically link management. Separate your links into different categories as well as add and import links.

6. Presentation

This is my favorite part. :) Theme Management! Select which theme you want to use, modify the theme with the editor and control your widgets. (more about widgets in a little bit)

7. Plugins

Activate and Deactivate plugins. Plugins extend your websites capabilities, there are many excellent free plugins.

8. Users

See a list of your users their usernames and e-mail addresses if you have user signup enabled.

9. Options

Here's where you can edit all the different writing and reading options, permalinks and more.

Themes

Themes allow you to easily change the way your site looks. All you have to do is upload the theme to your themes folder and activate it in your admin area. You can also edit themes directly in the admin area which is one of my favorite features.

Plugins

Plugins extend the functionality of your WordPress site. From starting a store to ad management, there are literally free plugins for just about anything.

Okay, I know what you're thinking... where do I turn once I become hooked on WordPress? I'm going to give you the links to the super secret WordPress society that most don't know about. Okay so there's no secret WP society, but there are some more cool sites with great information and goodies to keep you going with WordPress and all it has to offer.

So why exactly does WordPress rock?

• It's easy to find hosting and install


• It's easy to manage


• There are tons of free themes and plugins


• The themes and plugins are easy to install


• Tons of people use it, great community


• Tons of info about it, great documentation


• It just ROCKS

Well I wouldn't be much of an entrepreneur if I didn't plug my site.......

I create WordPress themes and my site was just launched. The first few themes aren't the greatest but more are under development.

Themes by Cal