In this part of my 'Getting Started with Blogging' series I will briefly go over how to install and use WordPress. Earlier parts of this series Part 1: Choosing a Topic and Part 2:Hosting are also available.

Finding a Web Host

There are many, many web hosting companies out there – some very good, some not so good. WordPress lists some hosting companies on their site that have auto-install options for WordPress. Many of them charge as little as $6.95 a month for hosting.

If you go with another company where you install the software on the hosting server yourself the features your hosting account needs to have are PHP version 4.3 or greater and MySQL version 4.0 or greater. WordPress even includes a sample email to send to a potential host to see if you can install it there.

Installing WordPress

Once you have your host picked out you then need to download WordPress. WordPress supplies both a Famous 5-Minute Installation and some more detailed instructions if you need it.

Setting Up and Customizing WordPress

One of the first things you will want to do with your newly installed WordPress blog is to pick a theme. A theme is sort of like a skin, but it is much more than that. It is a collection of files that make up the graphical interface of your blog. Some themes also include features that others don't. You can use
the theme viewer to find a theme or do a search in a search engine for "WordPress themes" – you will find that there are many thousands of themes available for free.

You can also create your own theme. This is an especially good idea if you already have a web site and you want your blog to have the same overall look and feel as the rest of your site.

For more information on setting up your blog I recommend Getting Started with WordPress, WordPress Lessons and Working with WordPress.

If it all seems overwhelming at first – don't let it bother you! Much of it you will get used to soon enough. And WordPress offers so much functionality that many long time users are still not aware of all that they can do with it. Many features you can learn about over time when you need them.

Using WordPress

When you first log in you will be taken to your "Dashboard" page. On this page you will see a summary of the posts, pages, drafts, etc. that you have – once you have something written. It also will list the recent comments and incoming links. On the upper right of the page you will see a small text link called "Settings". Within that page are links along the top to change the settings for Writing and Reading your blog and a few others. Some of those are pretty self explanatory so you may want to adjust them right away.

On the upper left is a link called "Write" – click this and start writing your first post! On the right of this page you can click either "Save" or "Publish". If you just click "Save", your post will be saved but will not actually be shown on your blog – click "Publish" to make it viewable to the world.

That, in a nutshell, is all you need to get a started writing on your blog!

Next time – Part 4 of Getting Started with Blogging: Let the World Know