Building Your Website With Wordpress (part 1)

What is Wordpress?

Wordpress is a free, easy to install and use blog and content management system. You can download Wordpress at: http://wordpress.org/download/.

Why Wordpress?

1. Wordpress is free, easy to install and easy to use


2. You can quickly create new static pages (About Us, Our Services, Contact Us, etc.)


3. You can easily maintain a business or personal blog and archive older articles


4. Wordpress can create search engine-friendly pages


5. You can choose from hundreds of templates (also called themes or designs) to install


6. You can choose from hundreds of plug-ins (such as calendars, contact forms, photo galleries, etc.) to add.

Installing Wordpress on Your Webhost

Option 1 : If you know how to use FTP and how to create a MySQL database, you can probably install it yourself quickly using the installation instructions at Wordpress.

Option 2: If you chose a webhost that includes the script library Fantastico or if you chose Netfirms.com, you can use their useful automatic installation tools. Please note: this method may not be as secure as option one.

1) Webhost with Fantastico

I will use Hostpapa.com as an example because I often recommend it to clients, but it could be any other host with Fantastico.

• Login to the control panel at http://www.hostpapa.ca/cplogin.shtml


• Scroll down to the « Software » section and click on « Fantastico De Luxe »
  


• In the left menu, under « Blog », you will find « Wordpress ». Click on « Wordpress » and then on « New Installation ».


• Choose your domain name in the drop-down menu.


• Type the directory where you want to install Wordpress. Leave it empty if you want to install it in the root folder


• Type an admin username and a password


• Put in your admin nickname, e-mail address and your site's name as well as a self-explanatory slogan.


• Click on « Install Wordpress » and then on « Finish Installation ».


• Your are ready to login to your admin account!

2) Netfirms Netfirms.com, another host I frequently recommend, is a bit different:

• Login to the control panel at https://controlpanel.netfirms.com


• Click on the menu item « Site Tools »


• Under « Applications » you will see « Wordpress ». Click on « Wodpress »


• On the next page, click on « Add New », on the right-hand side of the page.


• Type the directory where you want to install Wordpress. Leave it empty if you want to install it in the root folder.


• Select your domain name and click « Add »

Option 3: If you prefer, you can have it installed by a freelancer for around $25. All the freelancer will need is access to your server and the option to create a MySQL database.

Creating Content
Once Wordpress is installed on the server, you can login to your admin account and create content in two different ways:

1) Create static pages such as « About Us », « Contact », « Services », etc.

• In the main menu, click on  « Write » and then on « Page »


• Type a title in the « Title » field


• Type and format your content in the « Page » field


• Click on the button « Publish »

And voilà, a new menu item will automatically be created in your site menu, linking to this new page.

2) Write a post (article)

• In the main menu, click on « Write » and then on « Post »


• Type a title in the « Title » field


• Type and format your content in the « Post » field


• Below you can type tags. Tags are keywords that describe the topic of your post.


• Select or add a category in which to post your article. This will help organize and archive your posts.


• Click on the button « Publish »

A new title will automatically be created in your categories and will link to this article. Most likely, and depending on your settings, this new article will also appear on your home page.

You can include images, videos, audio and other files in both posts and pages using the buttons next to "Add Media".

For more info on how to use Wordpress, read  http://codex.wordpress.org/Introduction_to_Blogging.