Wow! The New WordPress Platform Rocks
If you have been on the fence about installing a WordPress blog, it’s time to make a decision and start blogging. WordPress’ new features unleash brand new powers to save your time and effort.
HOW TO INSTALL YOUR BLOG
If you do not have a blog yet, simply go to the control panel at your site – generally www.YourSite.com/cpanel - click the Fantastico icon, and then click the option to install WordPress in a directory of your choice. Once the blog has been installed, you will want to go into your administrative panel, which is called a dashboard. The dashboard enables you to easily update the blog software, add plugins, and change the look of your blog. This is also where you add content in the form of new articles and posts.
UPDATING THE BLOG SOFTWARE
Recent versions of the blogging software have allowed you to update the software with just one click within your dashboard, and to search, review and install plugins that will enhance the power of your WordPress blog.
HOW TO WORK WITH BLOG THEMES
In its June 2009 update, WordPress took the plugin capability a step farther by expanding it to include easy theme installation. The new WordPress Version 2.8 offers an outstanding and super easy to use theme feature that is similar to the plugin feature. You simply specify the type of theme that you want; for instance, a 2 column blue and gold theme, click search and then preview the free themes that are available. Pick the theme that you want and WordPress will install it for you from your dashboard. In the old days, you would have to look at different themes from the WordPress or other sites, download the theme, unzip it, then ftp it into your blog’s content area. This time consuming task has been simplified with the new WordPress release.
When you have installed a theme, you can change it around to how you want it to appear by editing the php pages. The page editing process is a lot easier with WordPress’ new color-coded theme editor. The code display in the new WordPress platform is now numbered and colored, making editing your PHP and stylesheet pages much, much easier.
There are some awesome free themes available, including the magazine style themes that look like a professional publication. If you use these types of themes, you will be working with a plugin called Timthumb that will display your images as thumbnails on the front page and display larger versions within the blog post. Timthumb and magazine style WordPress themes are pretty easy to work with, but sometimes the help file is not entirely clear because it assumes that you know things that you do not know. At Not Guru, you can find a step-by-step tutorial, replete with screen shots, which show you how to work with magazine style WordPress themes.
WORDPRESS IS NOW FASTER
Not only does the new WordPress software make your life easier in adjusting the appearance of your blog, but it runs a lot faster.
BLOGGING WILL IGNITE YOUR STAGNANT SITES
A frequently updated WordPress blog is an incredible search engine traffic magnet. If they are updated on a consistent basis, new posts generally show up in the search engines within hours. There is an easy way to get your blog posts indexed even faster, and it will not cost you a cent to do. What you do is install what is called the SEO blog plugin. With the new plugin installation platform in WordPress, installing the blog traffic plugin takes only a few minutes and a couple mouse clicks from your dashboard. Once installed, the plugin will tweak your blog, have you install other traffic-pulling plugins, and optimize the search engine capabilities of your blog. It then gives you an SEO grade (like 77% or 80%). Once you have installed the SEO plugin, you wil see a big difference in your blog’s performance in the search engines.
Because you will keep your web visitors happy with up-to-date content and the search engines constantly visiting your site, adding a blog is a powerful tool to add to your website. Thanks to the new WordPress release, it has never been simpler to install and maintain a blog. Blog installation tips, computer help and other practical guides are provided daily at the Not Guru blog.