Keep in mind that all free WordPress. com websites have “wordpress. com” in the URL, in addition to your “chosen” website address name. Example: http://YourBlog’sName. wordpress. com.
Registration
• Go to WordPress. com and Click on “Sign Up” in the center of the upper (black) menu bar
• Then Type in your blog address choice(s) – WordPress will provide immediate feedback whether your choice(s) are available. Next, choose a username and a password, type in the email address associated with the account, and choose a language (English is the default). Click “Create blog”
• Then Check your e-mail to for the link to complete your registration. Go to your email, click the link, and registration is complete. Your account is now active!
• Login to your new blog accounts with your username and password. In the upper (black) menu bar, click on “Dashboard”.
Activate Your Theme
Tweak Your Blog Design
Add Widgets
• In the left-hand menu bar, go to Appearance > Widgets. (What the heck is a widget ?)
Widgets enhance the design and functionality of your blog. On this page, you will choose what you want your readers to “see” and use in the right margin of your website (or left, depending on your chosen theme.) Add a Meta box at the bottom so you can easily log into your site.
• Once you’ve decided on widgets you want, grab them with your mouse one at a time and “drag” them from the list on the left to the boxes on the right. Where you drag and drop widgets will affect your blog layout. Experiment!
Publish Your First Post!
• In the left-hand menu bar, go to Posts > Add New .
The WordPress publishing tool can be a little slow, so I recommend you write and edit posts in a word processing program, then copy paste the text into the box on the “New Post” page. The title of your post goes in the box at the top of the page (“Enter title here”). To add a link in the body of the post, highlight the content where you want the link to appear, click on the odd-looking chain link thingy in the menu bar above the content window, paste the actual link into the pop-up box, choose “open link in new window,” then click “Add link” at the bottom of this box.
• Have a quick idea then write it and then save it as a draft by clicking on “Save Draft”. You can edit it before publish.
• To view how the page as it will actually appear when published, click the “Preview” button upper right on the page.
•Then Click the “Publish” button upper right on the page.
