WordPress is a very popular blogging platform. If you already have a blog somewhere, I would suggest that you switch to WordPress. Today I will walk you through getting your blog setup and rolling. Do you have a hobby, special skill or love?  You can pour your heart and soul into it by creating a WordPress blog and running it for less than the cost of the amount of time you spend on social networks. And guess what? After your blog is up and running you will have a cool reason to be on social networks. Soon, you too will become a social media ninja. :) Ok, enough of that, let’s get cracking! As you can see from my profile, or if you have been following this site for a while, I am a teacher and I like to do things in steps. Maybe I am biased because that is the way I tend to learn things well, and I try to teach the way I would learn.

Step 1: Purchase a Domain Name

I would suggest that you separate the company that owns your domain name from the company that hosts your blog. I think that whenever possible it is always a good idea to diversify. I would suggest that you let companies such as GoDaddy or 1and1 manage your domain name for you. When you have chosen the company that will be hosting your site’s content and files, you then point your domain name to that server where your files are actually hosted. Some companies will offer you a free domain name if you purchase hosting. Personally, I would suggest that you not fall for that scheme. They just want to get you to host with them. I will talk more about choosing a domain name and a hosting company in a different post. On this page I will provide a summary of the basic things that you will need, and in subsequent posts I will provide more details.

Step 2: Install WordPress on your Domain

There are 2 ways to install WordPress:
1-Automatic Installation: If you use any of the popular web hosting companies, they probably have a way for you to install WordPress by just going to your control panel and installing it from there.

2- Manually Install WordPress: By downloading it from WordPress.org and uploading the files to your server, you can then connect the uploaded WordPress folder to a database that you create.

Step 3: Choose a WordPress Theme

So you now have the WordPress site running on your site with the default WordPress theme. You can stick with that theme if you like, or you can now get going on hunting for the perfect theme. Caution: be very careful about using free WordPress themes. There are many evil people in the dark halls of the internet, and there are many who would love for you to walk down their booby-trapped path. I would suggest that if you are going to use free WordPress themes, that you only use free ones from WordPress.org or from reputable WordPress theme developers who are well established and have a huge credibility at stake.

Step 4: Install the Necessary Plugins

There are many great plugins out there, however, only select the plugins that you really need. Remember this, WordPress gets updated pretty often and you will want to make sure that you stay in the loop to keep your site protected.  I will talk more about  some of the plugins that you can use to get your site going later. Don’t worry yourself too much about this as yet. The main thing right now is to get your site ready to rock and roll.

Step 5: Basic Security Measures

For starters, make sure that you have a very strong password. People are going to try to brake into your site.

Backup and Backup
You hear it everyday, such and such well known website got hacked. Multi-billion dollar companies are getting hacked. Your most important defense is to make sure that your website is backed up. We will talk more about backing up your website later.

Here are a few books that you can add to your AccuTeach shelf that will help you on your way to running your own WordPress powered website.

Conclusion

Getting started on WordPress is very easy and that is one of the reasons why it is so popular. However, the main thing to take into consideration is that due to the popularity of WordPress, the threat facing the platform and your site directly are real. Don’t let that stop you, life is short. Enjoy life and welcome to the WordPress world.