Best Way to Start Using Wordpress.org?

I just fixed my computer (it was actually ridiculously easy, but that's besides the point) and I wondered if anyone has the "easy" steps to start a Wordpress blog. Yes, they have tutorials, but it seems fairly overwhelming for the person just trying to see how to incorporate it into his website. Thanks.

I had a couple of people PM me and instead of keeping anything private, I'll put it here in case of people want to start a Wordpress blog.

I can and will do it myself - rather I asked for pointers and hints to get started. I will not pay someone to design my blog. That's a big part of doing it myself, is that it's free for me, even though it may take awhile longer than paying someone to do it for me. Thank you, however.

If nothing else, this can help future POTNers who want to start a PHP blog, as searching here on this subject brings up goose eggs.

Hey, I was one that PM'd you. I wasn't inferring that the person's website I gave you would design it for you (although he does that) I misread your post. I thought you wanted help installing it. geesh. I had trouble getting mine up and running when I installed it and thought I spare you the grief I endured.

to get started: go to wordpress.org and read their FAQ. Any questions they have a great forum with lots of helpful people to get you started.

I can read their website, but wanted any anecdotal support instead from people using it themselves.

FWIW, there was another person who PM'd me before you. I didn't ask for help in the fact that I'm helpless or full of money, but rather wanted to just start a "fun" thread.

I'm also a noob to wordpress so I'll be following this thread with interest. I set up my blog a couple of months ago (then had little time to do much else with it for a while!) and while it's pretty basic and not too customised right now I'm all ears for good plugins and tips for making it look good.

Mike you could probably do a search of this forum using wordpress plugins and get a some hits. even google will help you out there. There are gallery plugins, shopping cart plugins, etc.

NPHSBuckeye: The WP.org forum is full of lots of people that use the program. Other then my installation woes (which were fixed for me) all has been pretty smooth. Notification of upgrades have gone well except for one where I had to have it done for me (by the same person that installed it for me). Mine is just very basic and nothing exciting.

nphsbuckeye wrote in post #10423019
I can read their website, but wanted any anecdotal support instead from people using it themselves.

Seriously, the wordpress resources are farkin awesome.
They seem a bit heavy at the start, but once you get the fundamentals down and understand just how it works, the support documentation is fantastic.
Its very well written and very concise.

I spent about a month just messing around, trying different things, then it took about 6 months and a little self training in CSS to put my website together by working on a template that I really liked.

Thanks for the advice guys. It does seem overwhelming (so did starting a website - where to start structurally?), but will be much smaller.

A stupid question: Do I have to have a host to install and star the software? My website is not live by any means and I still have a ways to go. So do I have to have a host before doing anything with Wordpress? Thanks.

yep. you have to have a domain name and hosting set up and they (host) have to have all the correct stuff to host a wordpress blog. I would imagine most do but am sure there are some out there that don't.

You also have to be familiar enough with the control panel of your website host as you have to set up a data base, etc. It is very easy but if you're not familiar or comfortable in the 'back office' part ... it is a bit overwhelming.

you can also get a wordpress.com blog to start off with and just set up to look like your website and just link to it.

Thanks, that's what I thought. Oh well, fun times will await.

One of the easiest ways to start working with Wordpress is to create one at Wordpress.com

The ups and downs of a wordpress.com blog (they host it) vs a wordpress.org blog (you host it) from their support pages here.

http://en.support.word​press.com/com-vs-org/

As a side note, there is a $15 fee per year to be able to customize CSS for Wordpress.com themes amongst other fees for things such as using a custom domain or going completely ad free.

I decided to go with the .com version at this time. It was quick and easy to select a basic theme, tune it a bit, set a few settings, and off you go.

You can take a look at it here: http://arroshotz.wordp​ress.com/

In the future as I have more time, I may switch over to my own host and set up a .org install, but for the mean time the .com version will serve me well.

tfd888 wrote in post #10433790
...

The big plus for hosting it on your own domain is traffic/SEO. If you choose not to host it on your server/domain, then very likely your customers will never find you....unless you don't care.

Hikin Mike wrote in post #10435776
The big plus for hosting it on your own domain is traffic/SEO. If you choose not to host it on your server/domain, then very likely your customers will never find you....unless you don't care.

Very true, I'm working on integrating it with my current Smugmug site which gets frequent hits from the various search engines and Smugmug's internal search function.

Interesting comparison. Although it'd be great to make a lot of money, I'm just making it for myself right now and hoping for the best.