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Highlights from the above video:
[0:36] The difference between WordPress.com and WordPress.org
[1:11] The limitations of setting up a blog via WordPress.com
[2:03] Creating your free blog
[3:27] Learning how to use your new blog
[4:26] How to change your blog’s theme
[6:19] Changing your theme’s options
[7:00] How to log out of WordPress
As noted in the video, WordPress.com is a great option for your first blog. It’s free, it’s easy to use, and you can always upgrade smoothly to a pro setup later if you need to. Just be aware that there are some significant limitations to using WordPress.com, such as:
- Limited theme modifications
- You can’t install third-party plugins
- Limited as to what scripts you can run (Google Adsense, for example, is not allowed)
- At the mercy of WordPress.com
For all of those reasons, I recommend a self-hosted WordPress setup for those who are really serious about blogging.
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Addressing a few of those technical terms mentioned in the screencast:
Hosting
Basically, your blog files need to live on a big computer that’s always connected to the Internet so other people can access it whenever they want. A hosting company simply rents you some space on their big computers. If you setup a blog with WordPress.com, they take care of the hosting for you, absolutely free. If you want a professional-grade blog however, you’ll need to buy hosting from a company like HostGator (my personal favorite).
Domain names
A domain name is the address of a blog or website, like 50dollarblogs.net is the address of this one. It should costs less than $20 per year for a .com, .net or .org address. Other domains (e.g. .info, .us) usually cost more. It’s usually best to buy your domain name from the same place you buy your hosting.
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Coming next week: All you need to know about WordPress widgets. Sign up for email updates in the sidebar or follow us on Twitter to make sure you don’t miss the newness.
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