How-to-set-up-wordpress.com

WordPress is a great open-development community that encourages its users to innovate. But a few years ago, it started getting hard to keep up with those innovations. That’s when the WordPress Plugin Repository was born (currently hosted at http://WP-plugins.org).
The repository is a place where all WordPress plugins are pulled together and shared with the community of users. But more than that, it’s a place where developers can go to see what’s already out there, what they can base their new work on, and what needs to be improved. In addition to end-user utilities that anyone can download for their WordPress needs, there are plenty of development tools, including wiki-based version control and a bug tracker, that the WordPress development community is welcomed to use. Everything is licensed under GPL unless noted in the source, so almost everything is open.
If you’re new to the WordPress plugin repository but not to the WordPress support forums, you should login with your forum username and password; they are currently synced. If you have any problems, you should email the forum webmaster to ask what’s going on. Only logged-in users may edit on the Repository, though everyone is welcome to view what’s going on.
What’s Available on the WordPress Plugin Repository?
The Repository is designed to be a complete, organized, efficient method of seeing what’s in development and what has been developed for WordPress. As such, the core offerings here are the plugin directory and a robust version control mechanism. You can also use a special interface, downloadable for free, to work with the Repository more easily. The Repository is powered by Trac, a source control management and project management tool. Subversion is a wiki tool providing version control, and is also the source management tool WordPress is using today.
Developers using this directory can host all their WordPress developments for free, even organizing teamwork through the WordPress Plugin Repository. By hosting here, they have high visibility, can easily manage their code and track bugs, and develop wiki-based documentation with end users more easily than they could ever do it by themselves.
But developers without users are like stores without customers. WordPress users, too, are welcome to download plugins that are in alpha or beta form, or to download and use the plugins that are fully-functional but not integrated into WordPress yet. There are tools available for users to:
• Browse plugins and themes available at the Repository
• Download all desired plugins and themes from one stable location
• Give their own feedback and suggestions to developers by using the tracker.
• Help develop documentation and improvements by using the plugin’s wiki page.
• Know what’s going on at all times by using RSS feeds.
Anyone developing or looking for WordPress plugins and themes is encouraged to use this resource. An email will get you the hosting you need for your project, and just coming and looking around will tell you a lot about what’s going on in the WordPress development world.
What Plugins Are Available Right Now?
While plugins are changing fast, a few core plugins are available and certainly worth the time they’ll take to check out. The best ones right now include:
Main Categories for WordPress allows you select “main” categories on your blog’s navigation bar. This allows you to highlight the parts of your blog you find most important, while still displaying everything else.
The WordPress DBManager manages your WordPress database so you don’t have to. Instead of worrying about lost data, you can use this manager to optimize, back up, restore, delete backed up databases, and even run queries for specific data.
WordPress Email allow you to send your blog entries to friends, enemies, or anyone you choose.
WordPress PageNavi gives you advanced page navigation.
WordPress Polls allows you to run the ever-popular polls and make the results public when you’re ready.
WordPress PostRatings allows you to have rating systems for your blog posts.
WordPress PostViews lets you display for users and for yourself how many times a post has been viewed.
WordPress Print will display for the user a printable version of any given WordPress blog post.
WordPress RelativeDate displays a relative date beside your post or comment actual date.
WordPress Stats displays WordPress statistics you want to brag about.
WordPress UserOnline allows you to note which users are currently browsing your blogs
WordPress Wap allows you to use a Wap-enabled cell phone to brows your WordPress blog entries from anywhere.
Other projects that are in development include:
• Joystick controls
• RPMView
• A WordPress XHTML validator
• Tons of tools for Python, including MySQL tools
• Recording level monitor
• An admin themer
• A post editor enhancement
• Fix broken links
• Palm usage manager
There are always new things in development in the repository, like new themes and small fixes such as a way to make WordPress allow dashes.
Even if you’re not a developer or interested in expanding your blog beyond what it has now, it is a good idea to check out the Repository. It’s certain that many of the plugins provided or in development today will eventually be incorporated into the newer upgrades of WordPress. By keeping an eye on the Repository, you’ll know what new developments are around the corner – and by logging in and discussing them on the wiki logs, you’ll be able to give your own input regarding how things ought to be done. While there are other places to find WordPress plugins, it’s to be hoped that most people will use the Repository in the future, making life easier for everyone.

The purpose of this article is to outline three different ways of getting a WordPress blog up and running. WordPress is a free blogging software, has many benefits and is supported by a large community of users and developers.
A “blog” is abbreviated from the term, “web log” which is a form of online diary or journal.
Since its advent a few short years ago, blogs have found numerous uses. Just to name a few, these include:
- teenagers putting their thoughts and ramblings online
- hobbyists giving updates about their interests and passion
- people staying updated with friends overseas
- professional bloggers updating specific niche products
- multinational corporations (MNC’s) such as Microsoft & General Motors using blogs as marketing tool
Like a web site, a blog has global reach. However, it’s far cheaper, quicker and definitely easier to maintain a blog than a traditional web site. A blog’s contents can be easily updated by submitting short or long articles (commonly known as blog posts) through an easy-to-use graphical interface. As a blog’s content is updated regularly, they naturally attract both human readers as well as search engines hungry for fresh content.
To set up a blog, we need some form of blogging software or platform. There are free software like Blogger and WordPress and there are paid platforms like Moveable Type and Typepad.
Blogger is owned by Google. It’s free and perhaps the easiest way to create a blog and your first post, literally within minutes! Howeer, its features are somewhat limited.
Thus, WordPress is a good alternative if you are looking for free blogging software. As it is an open source software, it is literally supported by a huge community of users and developers that assists both new and experienced bloggers. Not only feature rich – it supports categories, pages and trackbacks, just to name a few – it is constantly being updated through its core software as well as through software plugin’s which are bonus software components that extend the basic functionality of WordPress. For more information, visit WordPress.org
Here are 3 different ways to get a WordPress blog up and running:
1) Via WordPress.com
2) Via WordPress.org
3) Via CPANEL’s Fantastico
VIA WORDPRESS.COM
Like Blogger, you can get your WordPress blog and first post up and running within several minutes through WordPress.com! This site is meant for people to get a taste of WordPress without having to go through the somewhat involved procedure via WordPress.org (see the section below). If this is the first time you are getting your WordPress blog up and running, you should definitely give this a shot.
It’s as easy as going to WordPress.com, clicking the button that says “Get a WordPress Blog Now>>” or something like that and following the directions there. And then, you start posting!
In this case, your WordPress blog will be hosted on WordPress.com totally free. Therefore, you do not need your own web host. The only drawback is that there are limitations such as you can’t install your own themes or plugin’s.
VIA WORDPRESS.ORG
Instead of having your blog hosted on WordPress.com, you can install WordPress on your own web host. (Of course, in this case, you need to have your own web hosting account which preferably comes with a version of “CPANEL” – a an easy-to-use graphical control panel to manage your web host.)
Setting up of the WordPress blog comprises the 3 main steps below.
Step 1: Visit WordPress.org and download the WordPress installation files which are free (since it is open source software as mentioned before). As the files are in a compressed format, run your compression utility (such as Winzip) to expand the files to your hard disk..
Step 2: Run your File Transfer Protocol (FTP) program and connect to your web hosting account. Then upload the installation files to the domain (if you have multiple domains hosted) and folder that you want your WordPress blog installed.
Step 3: This step is going to be challenging for the non-techie type if they managed to survive Step 2! You log into the CPANEL of your web host and create and configure your MYSQL database. After this is done, you need to configure some files to complete your installation.
Next, launch your browser to access your blog and start making your 1st post by running the “wp-admin.php” script that has been installed.
As you can see, this is the “normal” but very tedious way of setting up of your WordPress blog.
However, the effort you expend is worthwhile as you can configure all aspects of WordPress like installing the theme you like and adding HTML codes to include Google AdSense on your blog to earn some profit, etc.
VIA FANTASTICO
Again, you install WordPress on your own web host but this time through FANTASTICO. In this case, not only would you need to have your own web hosting account, it MUST come with a version of “CPANEL” that includes “FANTASTICO” – an advanced script installer that automates a 1-click WordPress installation! (Actually a few clicks are needed.)
With FANTASTICO, all the 3 steps above are automated for you. All you need to do is to log into the CPANEL of your web host and then click the FANTASTICO icon, which is a smiley face.
In the next screen, click on “WordPress” and then click on “New Installation”. FANTASTICO will open a form and you fill in a few things like which domain (if you have multiple domains hosted) and which folder to install to. Once you have typed in the information and pushed a button, FANTASTICO will install WordPress in a few seconds!
How is that possible? That’s because the installation files are already at your web host. This saves you time as you don’t have to download them from WordPress.org, expand them and upload to your web host. Likewise, the databas is also automatically created and configured for you.
Next, launch your browser to access your blog and start making your 1st post by running the “wp-admin.php” script that has been installed.
As you can see, this is the “preferred” method of getting a WordPress blog up and running, also within minutes.and yet you can have all the benefits of configuring all aspects of WordPress, such as adding Affiliate Programs easily (including Amazon.com) and Google AdSense to make a handsome profit month after month!

I haven’t a clue how to use Wordpress and Comicpress to create sites and publish comic strips! Please help. Do you know of a good walkthrough? Thanks much!

I want to create a custom Wordpress theme, but I don’t have administrative access to the computer that I’m using, so I can’t install Wordpress to test my theme. Is there another easy way to do it? I have photoshop, and notepad ++ both installed on my flash drive, but as far as I know there is no way to install Wordpress on a flash drive.

I need 2 set up wordpess through a webhost…
i know i have to download wordpress but whats a good host to go with? and after i set up an account with a host, how difficult is the set up before I can begin building a site? and last but not least, can i still import the free wordpress templates?