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Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 MinutesCopyright © 2010 by Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced,stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic,mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without writtenpermission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed withrespect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book,the publisher and authors assume no responsibility for errors oromissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein.

ISBN-13: 978-0-672-33120-6

ISBN-10: 0-672-33120-9

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Tomasi, Chuck.

Sams teach yourself WordPress in 10 minutes / Chuck Tomasi andKreg Steppe.

p. cm.

Includes index.

ISBN 978-0-672-33120-6

1. WordPress (Electronic resource) 2. Blogs—Computer programs.3. Web sites—Design—Computer programs. I. Steppe, Kreg. II. Title.

TK5105.8885.W66T65 2010

006.7'8—dc22

2010005881

Printed in the United States of America

First Printing March 2010

TrademarksAll terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks orservice marks have been appropriately capitalized. Pearson Education,Inc. cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of anytrademark or service mark.

Warning and DisclaimerEvery effort has been made to make this book as complete and asaccurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an “as is” basis. The author and thepublisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from theinformation contained in this book.

Bulk SalesPearson offers excellent discounts on this book when ordered inquantity for bulk purchases or special sales. For more information,please contact

U.S. Corporate and Government [email protected]

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AssociatePublisher

Greg Wiegand

AcquisitionsEditorsLaura Norman

Rick Kughen

DevelopmentEditorWordsmithery, LLC

Managing EditorPatrick Kanouse

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Publishing

IndexerKen Johnson

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Introduction

Blogging has been booming for years, and it shows no sign of slowingdown. It is an easy and organized way to deliver news, tutorials, and pod-casts; it’s even an easy way to share personal thoughts and stories. It wasthe social network before other social networks existed. Like blogging,WordPress has grown over the years to a mature platform that is accessi-ble to everyone, including you. Starting your own blog can be a fun andrewarding experience, but getting there might take a little work.Navigating your way through installation, profile accounts, themes, andplug-ins will be easier after you complete the lessons in this book. Youwill have all the knowledge you need to start your own blog right away.

About This BookAs part of the Sams Teach Yourself in 10 Minutes guides, this book showsyou all the caveats of setting up a blog with WordPress either as a hostedblog or on your personal website. All the topics are separated into easy-to-handle lessons that you can complete in 10 minutes or less. The lessonscover the following tasks and topics:

. Creating a blog at WordPress.com or installing your blog onanother server

. Configuring and customizing your blog

. Writing blog posts and pages

. Mapping your way around the WordPress Dashboard

. Adding media to your posts

. Installing themes and plug-ins

. Customizing widgets

. Drawing attention to your blog

. Making your WordPress blog search engine-friendly

. Blogging on the go

Who This Book Is ForSams Teach Yourself WordPress in 10 Minutes is for individuals who wantto create and operate a personal weblog or website for an organizationusing WordPress. WordPress is one of the most popular blogging systems,but uninitiated users might need help getting started with it. There are alot of options and choices to be made within the software. Do you want tohost a personal blog or a blog for a business? Maybe you want to showoff your photography, or maybe you want to use WordPress to start a pod-casting site. WordPress can do all these things, and it includes somethingfor everyone. The advice in this book can make your foray into bloggingwith WordPress more satisfying.

Each lesson focuses on a particular subject such as installation or manag-ing comments. You can skip around from lesson to lesson or followthrough the entire book from beginning to end.

What You Need to Use This BookTo use this book, you first need a can-do attitude and the curiosity to learnsomething new. You probably already have the tools you need to startusing WordPress: an Internet connection, a computer, and a web browser.If you have those, you are ready to go.

You might also need a credit card or some other payment type to purchaseyour own domain, and you might need to subscribe to hosting services ifyou want to host your own WordPress site. You can learn more aboutthese things in Lesson 8, “Setting Up Hosting.”

Conventions Used in This BookWhenever you need to watch for something in particular or are directed toclick on something, those items will appear as bolded text, such as “Clickon the orange Download button.” There are also some special sidebarsthat call out Tips, Notes, and Cautions.

2

Screen CapturesThe screen captures in this book were taken using the Firefox web brows-er. If you use a different web browser, your screens might look slightlydifferent.

Also keep in mind that the WordPress developers are constantly at work,and new releases and updates are frequently available. Often new featuresare added or pages are slightly redesigned. These updates mean that thescreen captures in this book might differ a little from what you see whenusing WordPress. Just remember: Don’t panic. Even though things changeregularly over time, the basic principles and functionality are the same.

3Introduction

TIP: Tips are nuggets of information that are good to know as youproceed. Tips might also offer shortcuts for getting things done.

NOTE: Notes are extra information that might give you a deeperunderstanding of a topic and help you expand your knowledge.

CAUTION: Cautions are warnings that alert you to possible conse-quences or an outcome of using a particular task or feature.

This page intentionally left blank

LESSON 1

Introducing WordPress

In this lesson, you learn the basics of WordPress, different ways you canrun WordPress, and ways to create your account on WordPress.com.

Understanding What WordPress IsWordPress is a powerful blog (short for web log) publishing system andcontent management system that is simple to set up and use. You can setup and manage your entire blog from any web browser. You don’t need tobe a web programmer or have a degree in information technology to startusing it. All you need to know is how to log in, type your content, andclick a button so the world can read your masterpiece.

So why should you use WordPress for your blog or—as many people havedone—as the framework for your entire website? The answer is simple: Itis easy to use, expandable, and affordable, and it offers a great communityof support. Consider the following personal example.

Recently, our local chapter of a national organization recognized it wastime to update its website. The content was fairly static. We would updateit once or twice a month to announce the next meeting. Furthermore, ourwebmaster was the only one who could make changes to the content, andhe was available for limited hours each week. Taking a cue from anotherchapter in our region, we looked at WordPress. It allows for more dynam-ic content, allowing any of the chapter board members to contribute andmanage the content. Dynamic content leads to frequent readers, and hav-ing frequent readers (it is hoped) leads to more chapter members.WordPress worked for our neighbor, and it worked for us. Within a coupleof months of our conversion to WordPress, our website was a thrivingcommunity with comments and conversations. As we had hoped, member-ships also rose. The website was no longer an afterthought; it was at thecore of how we communicated with our members.

Options for Using WordPressWordPress comes in three basic modes: WordPress.com, WordPress.org,and WordPress MU (multiuser). Each one is described in this section sothat you can decide which is right for you.

WordPress.com is what’s known as a “hosted” solution, meaning a lot ofthe heavy lifting of installing and configuring the software has been takencare of for you. The benefits of this solution are that it is free and itdoesn’t take long to start using. You don’t need to worry about paying forhosting, running a web server, or downloading software updates. You justcreate an account, name your blog, and start creating content. The draw-back is that WordPress.com is not always as flexible as some people like.For example, you cannot install themes and plug-ins, run ads, or edit thedatabase. To start using WordPress.com, visit its site athttp://wordpress.com.

6 LESSON 1: Introducing WordPress

The second way to use WordPress is to download and install the softwareyourself from WordPress.org. This task requires a little more technicalsavvy (and money). The advantage is that you have more control over theappearance and functionality of the way your site is run. The additionalflexibility, though, creates additional complexity. Don’t worry; installingyour own WordPress is not all that daunting, and you can read more aboutit in Lesson 10, “Installing WordPress.” With this option, you need to payfor web hosting, so you can shop around for the service that best fits yourneeds. You need to ensure your hosting provider has PHP version 4.3 orgreater (the programming language WordPress is built on) and MySQLversion 4.1.2 or greater (the database behind WordPress).

The final way to run WordPress is to use WordPress MU (multiuser). It isthe same software that runs WordPress.com, but it’s meant for large orga-nizations such as schools, networks, or companies that want to run dozensof blogs under one central administration. The use of WordPress MU is

NOTE: Although WordPress.com is a free service, it is financiallysupported by optional paid upgrades, VIP services, and GoogleAdSense advertising.

http://wordpress.com

beyond the scope of this book. If you want more information onWordPress MU, you can find it at http://mu.wordpress.org.

WordPress FeaturesThere are several reasons to consider WordPress instead of other bloggingsoftware sites or packages.

WordPress is extensible, meaning you can start with a basic setup and add onmany plug-ins to extend the functionality of your software (see Table 1.1).The capabilities of plug-ins range from taking a simple poll to distributingaudio and video files with your regular content. The official repository ofWordPress plug-ins is available at http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/.

One nice feature about WordPress is that you can always start simple withWordPress.com. Then, if you decide you want to extend your featuresbeyond what WordPress.com can offer, you can migrate it later to yourown website using the software downloaded from WordPress.org. If youthink you might one day migrate from WordPress.com to your own web-site, there are some factors you should take in to account. We talk aboutthem in Lesson 8, “Using RSS and Data Migration Tools.”

Table 1.1 WordPress.org and WordPress.com Feature Comparison

Feature WordPress.org WordPress.com

Cost Free Free

Requires hosting Yes No

Requires download Yes No

Requires setup/installation Yes No

Ability to install your own templates Yes No

Ability to use sidebar widgets Yes Yes

RSS Yes Yes

Ability to install plug-ins Yes No

Ability to set up multiple blogs No Yeswith one account

Customizable style sheets Yes $15/year

7Understanding What WordPress Is

http://mu.wordpress.org

http://wordpress.org/extend/plugins/

WordPress has a large community of fiercely loyal followers that providean excellent support network. If you have questions, you are likely to findthe answers at http://wordpress.org/support or http://codex.wordpress.org.If you cannot find answers to your questions in this book, the Codex web-site is an excellent resource.


PLAIN ENGLISH: RSS

RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication. It is a method that com-puters use to exchange information. For the purposes of WordPress,RSS allows people to “subscribe” to your blog, much like they sub-scribe to a magazine. Rather than people coming to your site tocheck for new content, an application periodically checks all sub-scribed sites (also known as “feeds”) for new content and presentsit much like email. RSS functionality is being incorporated in manypopular applications such as Microsoft Outlook and InternetExplorer. It is available in specialized applications, called RSS read-ers, such as Mozilla Thunderbird. There are even RSS readers avail-able as web applications—such as Google Reader—and several foryour iPhone.

The History of WordPress

Although WordPress was one of three leaders in both rate of adop-tion and brand strength as measured in the 2009 Open SourceContent Management System Market Share Report, it had its hum-ble beginnings just a few short years ago. In early 2003, a youngman by the name of Matt Mullenweg found that his favorite publish-ing software (called b2) was without a lead developer. He decided totake up the task to enhance and rebrand b2 as WordPress. He wassoon joined by Mike Little and the original b2 developer, MichaelValdrighi. A few months later, the first release of WordPress wasmade available. In August 2006, the software had more than 1 mil-lion downloads. In 2007, that number reached 3 million.

http://wordpress.org/support

http://codex.wordpress.org

Getting Started withWordPress.comHere’s an example of how easy it is to start using WordPress. Let’sassume you have been tasked with creating a website for your local chap-ter martial arts club.

To start with WordPress.com, follow these steps:

1. Go to the main WordPress.com site at http://wordpress.com.

2. Click the Sign Up Now button.

3. Create a user name and password, and fill in the email address.Be sure to review the terms of service and check the box thatstates you have read and agree to them. Click Next. See Figure 1.1.

9Getting Started with WordPress.com

Have a Strategy

Before you start using WordPress, it pays to have a vision, or a plan,of what you want your blog to be. Is this something for friends andfamily to keep up with, or is it a publication for an organization youbelong to? Do you have a theme or brand to adhere to, or are youallowed to experiment? Do you have a name for your blog? All theseissues should be considered before you dive in.


FIGURE 1.1 The Sign Up screen on WordPress.com.

4. Name your blog. The blog domain is the web address wherepeople will find your blog. By default, it is the same name asyour user name. Change the blog domain if you want to use aweb address different than your user name. The Blog Title is thename of your blog. You can change this at any time in the blogsettings. Select the language your blog uses and choose your pri-vacy option. Finally, click Sign Up. See Figure 1.2. For ourexample, I used the blog domain bostaff.wordpress.com, the title“Fox Cities Martial Arts,” left the language as English, andchose to make the blog visible to search engines.


CAUTION: Choosing Your Blog Domain

Choose your blog domain carefully. Once it is set, it cannot bechanged.

FIGURE 1.2 Choose your blog address and title.

5. Update your profile. Enter your first name, last name, and littletext about yourself. When you are done, click Save Profile. SeeFigure 1.3.

11Getting Started with WordPress.com

FIGURE 1.3 Include a little more information in your profile.

6. Check your email. When you get the confirmation message fromWordPress.com, click the link to activate your blog. The linktakes you to a page that says Your Account Is Now Active. SeeFigure 1.4. Click the link on the page to view your site or log in.Until you receive the email and click on the link, you cannotpublish any content to your blog.


FIGURE 1.4 After your account is active, you can log in and start creatingcontent.

7. Click View Your Site.

Congratulations, you’ve just created your first blog! When you come backto WordPress.com, you can either log in directly at your blog address—forexample, http://bostaff.wordpress.com—and use the Log in link, or go tohttp://wordpress.com.

http://bostaff.wordpress.com


Migrating From Another BlogIf you already have a blog with another popular site or software,WordPress makes it possible to migrate your content. Currently, you canimport from any of the following blogs:

. Blogger

. LiveJournal

. Movable Type or TypePad

. WordPress

. Yahoo! 360

See Lesson 8 for more information on migrating your blog toWordPress.com.

SummaryIn this lesson, you learned what WordPress is and how it can be used. Youalso learned how quickly and easily you can log in to WordPress.com andcreate your own account.

13Summary

AA Comment Is Held for Moderation

option (Discussion Settings screen,Email Me Whenever section), 68

A Static Page option (Reading Settingsscreen, Front Page Displays setting), 63

About Yourself section (profiles)Biographical Info area, 21completing, 25passwords, 22-23

accountsactivating, 12passwords, creating, 9profiles, updating, 11setting up, 9user names, creating, 9

Active category (Plug-ins Dashboard), 170Add New option (Plug-ins Dashboard), 172Add New Post page, 28Add This to the (Current) Theme’s CSS

Stylesheet option (CSS StylesheetEditor page), 110

addingRSS feeds, 116widgets to blogs, 102

Admin Color Scheme, 17Admin passwords, 151Administrative Dashboard

managing comments, 82Recent Comments Dashboard wid-

get, 83-84Advertising Manager plug-in, 184advertising plug-ins, 184Akismet spam filtering plug-in, 184Akismet spam filtering software, 80-81All category (Plug-ins Dashboard), 170Allow Link Notifications from Other

Blogs (Pingbacks and Trackbacks)option (Discussion Settings screen), 78

Allow People to Post Comments on NewArticles option (Discussion Settingsscreen), 78

allowing comments, 77alternate text image descriptions, 46Anyone Posts a Comment option

(Discussion Settings screen, Email MeWhenever section), 68

API (Application Programming Interface)defining, 17Personal API keys, profiles, 16

App Store, WordPress application, 192-193applying themes, 97, 166approving comments

comments list, 86-88Recent Comments Dashboard widget

(Administrative Dashboard), 84archives widget, 101articles

Attempt to Notify and Blogs LinkedTo from the Article option(Discussion Settings screen), 78

comments, changing settings forindividual articles, 79-80

posting, Press This feature, 120Atom Publishing, remote publishing, 188Attempt to Notify any Blogs Linked To

from the Article option (DiscussionSettings screen), 78

audio, adding to pages, 51-52authentication, 123Author column (comments list), 86Auto Renew setting (registrars), 134Auto-embeds option (Media Settings

screen), 71automated script services, WordPress

installations, 139Automatically Close Comments on

Articles Older Than __ Days setting(Other Comment Settings section(Discussion Settings screen), 67

Automattic, paid technical support via, 209avatars. See also gravatars

Avatar Display option (DiscussionSettings screen), 69

Index

Blog Picture/Icon area (GeneralSettings screen), 58

Default Avatar option (DiscussionSettings screen), 69

Maximum Rating option(Discussion Settings screen), 69

uploading images as, 58

Bbackups, 123-124, 128bandwidth, web hosting, 136Before a Comment Appears setting

(Discussion Settings screen), 68Bing Webmaster Center, webmaster tools

verification, 123Biographical Info area (profiles, About

Yourself section), 21BlackBerry

remote publishing from, 194-195viewing posts, 196

Blog Pages Show at Most option(Reading Settings screen), 64

Blog Picture/Icon area (General Settingsscreen), 58

Blog Title setting (General Settingsscreen), 56

blogsactivating, 12comments, configuring settings,

78-80configuring settings

comments, 78-80discussion settings, 65-69formatting settings, 60-61general settings, 55-58media settings, 70-71privacy settings, 71-72reading settings, 62-65writing settings, 58-59

customizingCSS Stylesheet Editor page,

108-111Extras page, 103header images, 107header images, 107lateral navigation, 105-106mobile browsers, 104

mShots preview links, 103Related Links option

(Extras page), 105-106themes, 93-97widgets, 100-102

databases, creating, 146deleting, 72development strategies, 9domains, choosing, 10finding, 77folders, creating, 146folds, 156hosting

bandwidth costs, 136bandwidth requirements, 136costs of, 133disk space costs, 136disk space requirements, 136finding support, 137Go Daddy web hosting

service, 140maintenance, 132-133plug-ins, 132pre-existing themes, 132reasons for hosting, 131registering domain names,

133-135requirements, 139responsibilities of, 132-133uploading files to web hosts,

143-145WordPress operational

requirements, 136importing content from other blogs,

128migrating, 124-125

content to WordPress, 13importing data from exported

WordPress (XML) files, 126transferring blogs, 126-127WordPress.com blogs to

WordPress.org sites, 129naming, 10, 56, 129OpenID, 73personalizing

CSS Stylesheet Editor page,108-111

Extras page, 103header images, 107

214 avatars

lateral navigation, 105-106mShots preview links, 103-104Related Links option (Extras

page), 105-106themes, 93-97widgets, 100-102

Primary Blog setting (profiles,Personal Options section), 18

remote publishingAtom Publishing, 188BlackBerry, 194-195technical support, 200-205configuring, 187-188email, 196-199Flickr, 189-190iPhone, 192-193mobile applications, 192-195Posterous, 191

ScribeFire plug-in, 200-204

WordPress.com email posts, 197

WordPress.org email posts,197-199

XML-RPC, 188

renaming, 129taglines, 56themes, 153

applying, 166

browsing at WordPress.org,158-159

deleting, 166

downloading, 158, 164-165

finding, 157

fixed layouts, 157

fluid layouts, 157

free themes, 154-155

installing, 162-165

premium themes, 154-155

resolution and, 156

three-column themes, 156

two-column themes, 155types of, 154viewing details of, 160

transferring, 126-127upgrades, transferring blogs, 127widgets, adding/removing, 102

BluBrry PowerPress plug-in, 185

branding (corporate) themes, 95browsers

connectionsAlways Use HTTPS When

Visiting AdministrationPages dialog, 18

encryption, 18remote publishing from, 200-204

Bulk Actions drop-down list (comments list), 88

Bulk Edit menu, Quick Edit option, 39

Ccalendars

calendar widget, 101Week Starts On option (General

Settings screen), 57categories widget, 101categorizing posts, 36ChangeLog, plug-in upgrades, 182code, editing, 177comments

A Comment Is Held for Moderationoption (Discussion Settingsscreen, Email Me Whenever section), 68

allowing, 77Anyone Posts a Comment option

(Discussion Settings screen, EmailMe Whenever section), 68

approvingcomments list, 86-88Recent Comments Dashboard

widget (AdministrativeDashboard), 84

Automatically Close Comments onArticles Older Than __ Days set-ting (Discussion Settings screen),67

Before a Comment Appears setting(Discussion Settings screen), 68

best practices, 90blog settings, configuring, 78-80bulk actions, making to

comments list, 88checking, 90

215comments

Comment Author Must Fill OutName and Email setting (OtherComment Settings section,Discussion Settings screen), 67

Comment Blacklist setting(Discussion Settings screen), 68

Comment Moderation setting(Discussion Settings screen), 68

Comment Reply via Email setting(Discussion Settings screen), 68

comments listapproving comments, 86-88

Author column, 86deleting comments, 87-88filtering comments, 88-89In Response To column, 86making bulk actions, 88replying to comments, 87searching comments in, 88spam filtering, 86-89unapproving comments in, 88

Comments Should be Displayedwith the _ Comments at the Topof Each Page (Discussion Settingsscreen), 67

deletingcomments list, 87-88Recent Comments Dashboard


denying, 77Discussion Settings screen,

configuring, 78-80editing

Quick Edit link (commentslist), 87

Recent Comments Dashboardwidget (AdministrativeDashboard), 84

emailemail aliases, 91receiving notifications, 90

Enable Threaded (Nested)Comments __ Levels Deep setting(Discussion Settings screen), 67

filtering in comments list, 88-89

leaving, 76-77moderating

Administrative Dashboard,82-84

comments list, 85-88Recent Comments Dashboard

widget (AdministrativeDashboard), 83-84

Notify Me of Follow Up Commentsvia Email option, 77

Other Comment Settings section (Discussion Settingsscreen), 66

page index (comments list), 89replying to, 91

comments list, 87Recent Comments Dashboard


searching in comments list, 88spam filtering, 68, 80-81



Subscribe to Comments setting(Discussion Settings screen), 69

unapproving in comments list, 88Users Must Be Registered and

Logged In to Comment setting (Discussion Settingsscreen), 67

viewing all, 85configuring

blog settings, 55discussion settings, 65-69formatting settings, 60-61general settings, 55-58media settings, 70-71privacy settings, 71-72reading settings, 62-65writing settings, 58-59

comment settings, 78-80discussion settings, 78-80remote publishing, 187-188RSS feeds, 114-116

216 comments

Contact Info section (profiles), 20copying WordPress files to websites,

143-145copyrighted material, adding to pages, 52corporate branding themes, 95CSS Stylesheet Editor page

customizing blogs, 108-111previewing changes in, 110saving changes in, 110

customizingblogs


Extras page, 103header images, 107lateral navigation, 105-106mobile browsers, 104mShots preview links, 103Related Links option


header images, 107themes (blogs), 153

applying, 166browsing at WordPress.org,

158-159deleting, 166downloading, 158,

164-165finding, 157fixed layouts, 157fluid layouts, 157free themes, 154-155installing, 162-165premium themes, 154-155resolution and, 156three-column themes, 156two-column themes, 155types of, 154viewing details of, 160

DDashboard

browsing themes in, 160Plug-ins Dashboard

Active category, 170Add New option, 172All category, 170Editor option, 172Featured view, 174Inactive category, 170Installed option, 172Newest view, 174plug-in searches, 174-175Recently Active category, 171Recently Updated view, 175Search view, 174Upgrade Available category,

171Upload view, 174

widgets, 167data backups, 123-124databases, creating, 146Date Format setting (General Settings

screen), 57deactivating plug-ins, 183Default Article Setting (Discussion

Settings screen), 66Default Avatar option (Discussion

Settings screen), 69Default Link Category (Writing Settings

screen), 61Default Post Category (Writing Settings

screen), 61deleting

blogs, 72comments



plug-ins, 171themes, 166

denying comments, 77descriptions (blogs), taglines, 56development strategies, 9disabling mShots preview links, 104Discussion Settings screen, 65, 79-80

Allow People to Post Comments onNew Articles option, 78

Avatar Display option, 69

217Discussion Settings screen

Before a Comment Appears setting, 68

Comment Blacklist setting, 68Comment Moderation setting, 68Comment Reply via Email setting, 68Default Article Setting, 66Default Avatar option, 69Email Me Whenever section, 68Maximum Rating option, 69Other Comment Settings section, 66Subscribe to Comments setting, 69

discussions, setting post options, 34disk space

web hosting costs, 136web hosting requirements, 136

Display a Mobile Theme When ThisBlog Is Viewed with a mobile browseroption (Extras page), 104

Display Name Publicly As list (profiles), 20

documentation, WordPress documenta-tion as free support, 206-207

domain names, registering, 133-135Domains section (Settings section), 73domains, choosing, 10downloading

plug-ins, 173themes, 158, 164-165

drafts (posts)changing status of, 34saving, 34

EEdit button (Add New Post page), 28editing

code, best practices, 177comments

Quick Edit link (commentslist), 87

Recent Comments Dashboardwidget (AdministrativeDashboard), 84

pages, 41plug-ins, 172posts, 36-39

HTML editing, 32Visual Editor, 29-31

WYSIWYG (what you see iswhat you get) editing, 32

Editor option (Plug-ins Dashboard), 172email

commentsemail aliases, 91receiving email notifications, 90

email address field (GeneralSettings screen), 57

Email Me Whenever section(Discussion Settings screen), 68

Notify Me of Follow Up Commentsvia Email option, 77

Post by Email option (WritingSettings screen), 61

Posterous, remote publishing, 191remote publishing from, 196

WordPress.com, 197WordPress.org, 197-199

embedded contentAuto-embeds option (Media

Settings screen), 71Maximum Embed Size option

(Media Settings screen), 71Enable mShots Site Previews on This

Blog option (Extras page), 103Enable Threaded (Nested) Comments __

Levels Deep setting (Other CommentSettings section, Discussion Settingsscreen), 67

Encoding for Pages and Feeds setting (Reading Settings screen), 65

encrypted browser connections, 18Excerpt view (Edit list), 39excerpts, 33export files

creating, 125media and, 125saving, 124

Extras pagecustomizing blogs, 103Display a Mobile Theme When This

Blog Is Viewed with a MobileBrowser option, 104

Enable mShots Site Previews onThis Blog option, 103

Related Links option, 105-106

218 Discussion Settings screen

FFeatured view (Plug-ins Dashboard), 174file permission plug-ins, 172filtering comments in comments list, 89finding

blogs, 77plug-ins, 172-173

Plug-ins Dashboard searches,174-175

WordPress site searches,176-177

profiles, 15themes, 95-96, 157web hosting support, 137

Firefox, ScribeFire plug-in, 200-204First Name, Last Name fields

(profiles), 19fixed layouts, 157Flickr, remote publishing, 189-190fluid layouts, 157folds (layouts), 156For Each Article in a Feed, Show

setting (Reading Settings screen), 65For Each Article in an Enhanced Feed,

Show setting (Reading Settings screen), 65formatting

Date Format setting (GeneralSettings screen), 57

Formatting option (Writing Settingsscreen), 60

Post by Email option (WritingSettings screen), 61

Time Format setting (GeneralSettings screen), 57

forums, finding support via, 208free themes versus premium themes,

154-155Front Page Displays setting (Reading

Settings screen), 63-64

GGallery (media library), adding images to

pages, 49Gears (Google), Turbo mode, 118-120

General Settings screen, 55Blog Picture/Icon area, 58Blog Title setting, 56Date Format setting, 57email address field, 57Language field, 56taglines, 56Time Format setting, 57Timezone setting, 57Week Starts On option, 57

GNU GPL (General Public License), 131-132

Go Daddy web hosting service, HostingConnection script service, 140

GoogleAdSense for feeds plug-in, 184Analyticator plug-in, 185Gears, Turbo mode, 118-120webmaster tools verification, 122

GPL (General Public License), 131-132gravatars, 23-24. See also avatarsgrouping posts, 36

Hheader images, customizing, 107help

free support, 205forums, 208search engines, 207WordPress documentation,

206-207WordPress website, 207

NetTuts website, 210paid support, 209Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in

10 Minutes 10 Minute Podcast, 211web hosting, 137WordPress Codex website, 210WordPress.tv website, 210

hosting blogsbandwidth, 136costs of, 133, 136disk space, 136domain names, registering, 133-135finding support, 137Go Daddy web hosting service, 140maintenance, 132-133plug-ins, 132

219hosting blogs

pre-existing themes, 132reasons for hosting, 131requirements, 139responsibilities of, 132-133uploading files to web hosts

choosing blog folders, 143copying WordPress files to

websites, 143-145WordPress operational

requirements, 136Hosting Connection script service, 140HTML (Hypertext Markup Language),

editing in posts, 32hyperlinks

adding to pages, 42-44Default Link Category (Writing

Settings screen), 61images, 51lateral navigation, 105-106links widget, 101Related Links option (Extras page),

105-106

II Would Like My Blog to Be Visible

Only to Users I Choose option (PrivacySettings screen), 72

I Would Like to Block Search Engines,but Allow Normal Visitors option(Privacy Settings screen), 71

iconsBlog Picture/Icon area (General

Settings screen), 58uploading images as, 58

imagesadding to pages

alternate text descriptions, 46images from computer, 44-46images from Gallery (media

library), 49images from media library, 50images from URL, 46-48storage limitations, 46


Flickr, remote publishing, 189-190header images, customizing, 107hyperlinks, 51

Large Size option (Media Settingsscreen), 71

Medium Size option (MediaSettings screen), 71

Thumbnail Size option (MediaSettings screen), 70

uploading, 58importing

content from other blogs, 128data from exported WordPress

(XML) files, 126In Response To column (comments list),

86Inactive category (Plug-ins Dashboard),

170Installed option (Plug-ins Dashboard),

172installing

plug-ins, 177automated installations, 179fully automatic installations,

178manual installations, 180

themes, 162-165WordPress

automated script services, 139creating blog folders, 146creating databases, 146initial logins, 150manual installations,

140-142running install scripts, 147-151uploading files to web hosts,

143-145Interface Language setting (profiles,

Personal Options section), 18iPhone, remote publishing from, 192-193

J - K - Lkeyboard shortcuts, 17, 32Language field (General Settings screen),

56languages

blogs, selecting language for, 56Interface Language setting (profiles,

Personal Options section), 18

220 hosting blogs

Large Size option (Media Settingsscreen), 71

Last Name, First Name fields (profiles),19

lateral navigation, 105-106layouts

fixed layouts, 157fluid layouts, 157folds, 156resolution and, 156three-column themes, 156two-column themes, 155

Limit Width option (CSS StylesheetEditor page), 110

links (hyperlinks)adding to pages, 42-44Default Link Category (Writing

Settings screen), 61images, 51lateral navigation, 105-106links widget, 101Related Links option (Extras page),

105-106List view (Edit list), 39logins

login names versus nicknames, 20WordPress, 150

Mmaintenance, blog hosting, 132-133manual WordPress installations, 140-142Maximum Embed Size option (Media

Settings screen), 71Maximum Rating option (Discussion

Settings screen), 69media

audio, adding to pages, 51-52export files, creating, 125video, adding to pages, 53-54

media libraryadding media library images to

pages, 50Gallery, adding images to pages, 49

Media Settings screenAuto-embeds option, 71Large Size option, 71Maximum Embed Size option, 71Medium Size option, 71Thumbnail Size option, 70

Medium Size option (Media Settingsscreen), 71

meta widget, 101migrating blogs, 13, 124-125

importing data from exportedWordPress (XML) files, 126

transferring blogs, 126-127WordPress.com blogs to

WordPress.org sites, 129mobile applications, remote publishing

BlackBerry, 194-195iPhone, 192-193

mobile browsers, 104mobile themes, 104moderating comments

Administrative Dashboard, 82Recent Comments Dashboard

widget, 83-84comments list, 85, 88

Author column, 86In Response To column, 86

moving blogs, 13, 124-125importing data from exported

WordPress (XML) files, 126transferring blogs, 126-127WordPress.com blogs to

WordPress.org sites, 129mShots preview links

customizing blogs, 103disabling, 104

Nnaming

blogs, 10, 56, 129Display Name Publicly As list, 20domain names

registering names, 133-135registrars, 133

First Name, Last Name fields (profiles), 19

nicknames, 20usernames, 19

NetTuts website, technical support via,210

New Post button, 27Newest view (Plug-ins Dashboard), 174nicknames versus login names, 20

221nicknames versus login names

Notify Me of Follow Up Comments viaEmail option, 77

O - Popen source software, 131-132OpenID section (Settings section), 73organizing posts, 36Other Comment Settings section

(Discussion Settings screen), 66

page index (comments list), 89pages

Add New Post page, 28audio, adding, 51-52copyrighted material, adding, 52creating, 40-41editing, 41hyperlinks, adding, 42-44images, adding

alternate text descriptions, 46images from computer, 44-46images from Gallery (media


video, adding, 53-54pages widget, 101passwords

account passwords, creating, 9Admin passwords, 151copying WordPress files to web-

sites, 145profiles, 22-23

performance, improving via Turbo mode(Gears), 118-120

permissions, plug-in files, 172Personal API keys, profiles, 16Personal Options section (profiles)

Admin Color Scheme, 17Always Use HTTPS When Visiting

Administration Pages dialog, 18Interface Language setting, 18Keyboard Shortcuts, 17Primary Blog setting, 18Proofreading section, 19Visual Editor, 17

personalizingblogs


Extras page, 103header images, 107lateral navigation, 105-106mobile browsers, 104mShots preview links, 103Related Links option


header images, 107pictures

adding to pagesalternate text descriptions, 46images from computer, 44-46images from Gallery (media



Flickr, remote publishing, 189-190header pictures, customizing, 107hyperlinks, 51Large Size option (Media Settings

screen), 71Medium Size option (Media

Settings screen), 71Thumbnail Size option (Media

Settings screen), 70uploading, 58

pingbacks, 78-79plug-ins

Advertising Manager plug-in, 184advertising plug-ins, 184Akismet spam filtering plug-in, 184blog hosting plug-ins, 132BluBrry PowerPress plug-in, 185creating, 174defining, 169deleting, 171downloading, 173editing, 172

222 Notify Me of Follow Up Comments via Email option

file permissions, 172finding, 172-173



Google AdSense for feeds plug-in,184

Google Analyticator plug-in, 185installing, 177

automated installations, 179fully automatic installations,

178manual installations, 180

Plug-ins DashboardActive category, 170Add New option, 172All category, 170Editor option, 172Featured view, 174Inactive category, 170Installed option, 172Newest view, 174plug-in searches, 174-175Recently Active category, 171Recently Updated view, 175Search view, 174Upgrade Available category,

171Upload view, 174

podcasting plug-ins, 185promotional/publicity plug-ins, 184publicity/promotional plug-ins, 184removing, 183ScribeFire plug-in, remote

publishing via, 200-204Sociable plug-in, 185Social Bookmarks plug-in, 185social networking plug-ins, 185spam filtering plug-ins, 184statistics plug-ins, 185Twitter Tools plug-in, 185upgrading, 181-182Wordpress.com Stats plug-in, 185Wp-pubsubhubbub plug-in, 184WP-SpamFree Anti-Spam plug-in,

184writing, 174

podcastsplug-ins, 185Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in

10 Minutes 10 Minute Podcast,technical support via, 211

Post by Email option (Writing Settingsscreen), 61

Posterous, remote publishing, 191posts

Add New Post page, 28BlackBerry, viewing on, 196categorizing, 36creating

Add New Post page, 28discussion options, 34excerpts, 33New Post button, 27tags, 35-36trackbacks, 33Visual Editor, 29-31

Default Post Category (WritingSettings screen), 61

discussions, setting options, 34drafts

changing status, 34saving, 34

editing, 36-39HTML editing, 32Visual Editor, 29-31WYSIWYG (what you see is

what you get) editing, 32excerpts, 33lateral navigation, 105-106New Post button, 27Post by Email option (Writing

Settings screen), 61Press This feature, 120previewing, 34publishing, 34-35saving drafts, 34Size of the Post Box setting

(Writing Settings screen), 59summaries, 65tags, 35-36trackbacks, 33visibility of, changing, 35

Posts Page option (Reading Settingsscreen, Front Page Displays setting), 63

223Posts Page option

premium themes versus free themes,154-155

Press This feature, posting articles via, 120previewing

CSS changes in CSS StylesheetEditor page, 110

posts, 34themes, 96websites, mShots preview links,

103Primary Blog setting (profiles, Personal

Options section), 18Privacy Settings screen

I Would Like My Blog to BeVisible Only to Users I Chooseoption, 72

I Would Like to Block SearchEngines, but Allow NormalVisitors option, 71

profilesAbout Yourself section

Biographical Info area, 21completing, 25passwords, 22-23

Contact Info section, 20Display Name Publicly As list, 20finding, 15First Name, Last Name fields, 19gravatars, 23-24nicknames, 20passwords, 22-23Personal API keys, 16Personal Options section

Admin Color Scheme, 17Always Use HTTPS When


Interface Language setting, 18Keyboard Shortcuts, 17Primary Blog setting, 18Proofreading section, 19Visual Editor, 17

saving changes, 25updating, 11, 25usernames, 19

promotional/publicity plug-ins, 184Proofreading section (profiles, Personal

Options section) and Visual Editor, 19

publicity/promotional plug-ins, 184publishing

posts, 34-35remotely

Atom Publishing, 188BlackBerry, 194-195browsers, 200-204configuring, 187-188email, 196-199Flickr, 189-190iPhone, 192-193mobile applications, 192-195Posterous, 191ScribeFire plug-in, 200-204XML-RPC, 188

Q - RQuick Edit link (comments list), 87Quick Edit option (Bulk Edit menu), 39

Reading Settings screenBlog Pages Show at Most option, 64Encoding for Pages and Feeds

setting, 65For Each Article in a Feed, Show

setting, 65For Each Article in an Enhanced

Feed, Show setting, 65Front Page Displays setting, 63-64Syndication Feeds Show the Most

Recent setting, 65Recent Comments Dashboard widget

(Administrative Dashboard), 83-84Recently Active category (Plug-ins

Dashboard), 171Recently Updated view (Plug-ins

Dashboard), 175redirected RSS feeds, 117-118registrars

domain names, 133renewals, 134

Related Links option (Extras page), 105-106remote publishing

Atom Publishing, 188browsers, 200-204configuring, 187-188

224 premium themes versus free themes

email, 196WordPress.com, 197WordPress.org, 197-199

Flickr, 189-190mobile applications

BlackBerry, 194-195iPhone, 192-193

Posterous, 191ScribeFire plug-in, 200-204XML-RPC, 188

removingplug-ins, 183widgets from blogs, 102

renaming blogs, 129renewals, registrars, 134replying to comments, 91

comments list, 87Recent Comments Dashboard widget

(Administrative Dashboard), 84resolution, themes, 156restoring backups, 128RSS (Really Simple Syndication) feeds,

8, 113adding feeds, 116configuring, 114-116For Each Article in a Feed, Show

setting (Reading Settings screen),65

For Each Article in an EnhancedFeed, Show setting (ReadingSettings screen), 65

redirected feeds, 117-118RSS Links widget, 115-116Syndication Feeds Show the Most

Recent setting (Reading Settingsscreen), 65

SSams Teach Yourself WordPress in 10

Minutes 10 Minute Podcast, technicalsupport via, 211

savingCSS changes in CSS Stylesheet

Editor page, 110exported files, 124post drafts, 34profile changes, 25

ScribeFire plug-in, remote publishing via, 200-204

script services (automated), WordPressinstallations, 139

scripts (install), running, 147-151Search view (Plug-ins Dashboard), 174searches

comments in comments list, 88plug-ins



search engines, finding support via,207

search widget, 101themes, 157

securitybrowser connections, 18privacy settings, configuring, 71-72

Settings sectionDiscussion Settings screen, 65

Avatar Display option, 69Before a Comment Appears

setting, 68Comment Blacklist setting, 68Comment Moderation setting,

68Comment Reply via Email

setting, 68Default Article Setting, 66Default Avatar option, 69Email Me Whenever section, 68Maximum Rating option, 69Other Comment Settings

section, 66Subscribe to Comments

setting, 69Domains section, 73General Settings screen, 55

Blog Picture/Icon area, 58Blog Title setting, 56Date Format setting, 57email address field, 57Language field, 56taglines, 56Time Format setting, 57TimeZone setting, 57Week Starts On option, 57

225Settings section

Media Settings screenAuto-embeds option, 71Large Size option, 71Maximum Embed Size option,

71Medium Size option, 71Thumbnail Size option, 70

OpenID section, 73Privacy Settings screen

I Would Like My Blog to BeVisible Only to Users IChoose option, 72

I Would Like to Block SearchEngines, but Allow NormalVisitors option, 71

Reading Settings screenBlog Pages Show at Most

option, 64Encoding for Pages and Feeds

setting, 65For Each Article in a Feed,

Show setting, 65For Each Article in an

Enhanced Feed, Show setting, 65

Front Page Displays option,63-64

Syndication Feeds Show theMost Recent setting, 65

Writing Settings screenDefault Link Category, 61Default Post Category, 61Formatting option, 60Post by Email option, 61Size of the Post Box setting, 59

Short Link button (Add New Post page),29

shortcuts (keyboard), 17, 32Sign Up screen, 9Simple Scripts script service, 140Size of the Post Box setting (Writing

Settings screen), 59Sociable plug-in, 185Social Bookmarks plug-in, 185social networking plug-ins, 185spam filtering

comments, 80-81Comment Blacklist setting

(Discussion Settings screen),68



plug-ins, 184Start from Scratch and Just Use This

option (CSS Stylesheet Editor page),110

statistics plug-ins, 185status

filtering comments by (commentslist), 88

post drafts, changing, 34strong passwords, 22-23subscriptions, RSS feeds, 8summaries (blog posts), 65support

technicalfree support, 205-208NetTuts website, 210paid support, 209Sams Teach Yourself

WordPress in 10 Minutes 10Minute Podcast, 211

WordPress Codex website, 210WordPress.tv website, 210

web hosting, 137syndication (RSS feeds), 8, 113

adding feeds, 116configuring, 114-116For Each Article in a Feed, Show set-

ting (Reading Settings screen), 65For Each Article in an Enhanced

Feed, Show setting (ReadingSettings screen), 65

redirected feeds, 117-118RSS Links widget, 115-116Syndication Feeds Show the Most

Recent setting (Reading Settingsscreen), 65

Ttag clouds, 175taglines, 56tags, 35-36, 175technical support

226 Settings section

free supportforums, 208search engines, 207WordPress documentation,

206-207WordPress website, 207

NetTuts website, 210paid support, 209Sams Teach Yourself WordPress in

10 Minutes 10 Minute Podcast,211

WordPress Codex website, 210WordPress.tv website, 210

text, alternate text image descriptions, 46

text widget, 102themes, 93, 153

applying, 97, 166blog hosting themes, 132branding (corporate) themes, 95browsing at WordPress.org, 158-159changing, 97deleting, 166downloading, 158, 164-165finding, 95-96, 157fixed layouts, 157fluid layouts, 157free themes, 154-155header images, customizing, 107installing, 162-165mobile themes, 104premium themes, 154-155previewing, 96resolution and, 156three-column themes, 156two-column themes, 155types of, 154viewing details of, 160

three-column themes, 156Thumbnail Size option (Media Settings

screen), 70Time Format setting (General Settings

screen), 57Timezone setting (General Settings

screen), 57titles, blogs, 56trackbacks, 33, 78-79transferring blogs, 126-127

Turbo mode (Gears), improving blog performance via, 118-120

Twitter Tools plug-in, 185two-column themes, 155

Uunapproving comments from

comments list, 88updates

profiles, 11, 25Recently Updated view

(Plug-ins Dashboard), 175upgrades

CSS customizations, 109plug-ins, 181-182transferring blogs, 127Upgrade Available category (Plug-

ins Dashboard), 171WordPress.com, 18WordPress.org, 18

Upload view (Plug-ins Dashboard), 174uploading

files to web hostschoosing blog folders, 143copying WordPress files to

websites, 143-145images, Blog Picture/Icon area

(General Settings screen), 58URL (uniform resource locators)

images from URL, adding to pages,46-48

OpenID, 73user names (accounts),creating, 9user profiles

About Yourself sectionBiographical Info area, 21completing, 25passwords, 22-23

Contact Info section, 20Display Name Publicly As list, 20finding, 15First Name, Last Name fields, 19gravatars, 23-24nicknames, 20passwords, 22-23Personal API keys, 16

227user profiles

Personal Options sectionAdmin Color Scheme, 17Always Use HTTPS When


Interface Language setting, 18Keyboard Shortcuts, 17Primary Blog setting, 18Proofreading section, 19Visual Editor, 17

saving changes, 25updating, 11, 25

usernames, 19Users Must Be Registered and Logged

In to Comment setting, OtherComment Settings section (DiscussionSettings screen), 67

Vverifying webmaster tools

Bing Webmaster Center, 123Google webmaster tools, 122Yahoo! Site Explorer, 122-123

video. See also embedded contentadding to pages, 53-54export files, 125

viewingcomments, 85posts on BlackBerry, 196

visibility of posts, changing, 35Visual Editor, 17

editing posts, 29-31keyboard shortcuts, 32Proofreading section (profiles,

Personal Options section) and, 19voice, export files, 125

Wweb hosting

Go Daddy web hosting service, 140requirements, 139uploading files to web hosts

choosing blog folders, 143copying WordPress files to

websites, 143-145

webmaster tools verificationBing Webmaster Center, 123Google webmaster tools, 122Yahoo! Site Explorer, 122-123

websitesAutomattic, paid technical

support via, 209folds, 156NetTuts website, technical

support via, 210previewing, mShots preview links, 103themes, 153

applying, 166browsing at WordPress.org,

158-159deleting, 166downloading, 158, 164-165finding, 157fixed layouts, 157fluid layouts, 157free themes, 154-155installing, 162-165premium themes, 154-155resolution and, 156three-column themes, 156two-column themes, 155types of, 154viewing details of, 160

WordPress Codex website,technical support via, 210

WordPress website, finding support at, 207

WordPress.tv website, technicalsupport via, 210

Week Starts On option (General Settingsscreen), 57

widgets, 100, 166-167archives widget, 101blogs, adding to/removing from, 102calendar widget, 101categories widget, 101links widget, 101meta widget, 101pages widget, 101RSS Links widget, 115-116search widget, 101text widget, 102

228 user profiles

width, Limit Width option (CSSStylesheet Editor page), 110

WordPress, 5Admin passwords, 151development of, 8features of, 7history of, 8installing

automated script services, 139creating blog folders, 146creating databases, 146initial logins, 150manual installations, 140-142running install scripts, 147-151uploading files to web hosts,

143-145logins, 150migrating outside blog content to

WordPress, 13operational requirements, 136support

documentation, 206-207WordPress website, 207

WordPress application (App Store), 192-193WordPress Codex website, technical

support via, 210WordPress MU (multiuser), 6WordPress.com, 6

email posting, 197feature comparison table, 7profiles, differences from

WordPress.org profiles, 15remote publishing

configuring, 187via email, 197

Sign Up screen, 9

Stats plug-in, 185

upgrades, 18

WordPress.org, 6

email posting, 197-199

feature comparison table, 7

manual WordPress installations

downloading software, 140

unpacking software, 142

profiles, differences fromWordPress.com profiles, 15

remote publishing

configuring, 187via email, 197-199

themes, browsing, 158-159

upgrades, 18

WordPress.tv website, technical support via, 210

Wp-pubsubhubbub plug-in, 184

WP-SpamFree Anti-Spam plug-in, 184

Writing Settings screen

Default Link Category, 61

Default Post Category, 61

Formatting option, 60

Post by Email option, 61Size of the Post Box setting, 59

wsers, 204WYSIWYG (what you see is what you

get) editing, 32

X - Y - ZXML (Extensible Markup Language)

exported WordPress (XML) files,importing data from, 126

XML-RPC, remote publishing, 188

Yahoo! Site Explorer, webmaster toolsverification, 122-123

229Yahoo! Site Explorer, webmaster tools verification

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