WordPress is a website-creation program that offers a simple way to create websites for users who do not have advanced technical coding or design knowledge. Using a simple setup process and WordPress' free URLs, you can sign up for an account and set up a website in less than 10 minutes. The basic site will be published immediately, and you can add pages, customize the appearance, and add additional functionality using WordPress' online editing interface.
Instructions
Difficulty:
Step 1
Visit the WordPress.com website to set up your free account. Click the "Sign Up Now" button and enter your contact information and choose a username and password for the WordPress site. Be sure the "Gimme a blog" radio button is selected before clicking the Next button; this will take you directly through the blog-creation process.
Step 2
On the next screen, choose a URL for your blog. Keep in mind that this cannot be changed, so choose carefully. As you enter different options, the website will tell you whether the name is available. WordPress website URLs follow the format yourblogname.wordpress.com, where you get to choose the phrase that replaces "yourblogname." Fill in the blog title and select language and privacy options, and click the Signup button to proceed.
Step 3
Activate your account by following the instructions in the email sent by WordPress; this verifies that you are the owner of your email address. You will need to click a link in the email, which will bring you to a page with a Login button. Click the button to log in. The login will bring you to your dashboard, from where you can customize and build your website.
Step 4
Create and edit pages for your website. Once you sign up for a WordPress site, you will be provided with a Home page and an About page. To create additional pages, click Add New under the Pages tab in the left navigation bar. To edit existing pages, choose the Pages link and select the page title from the list. For each page, you can change the title, page text, imagery, and choose categories and tags. You can choose to publish new pages and changes immediately or save them as a draft for later use.
Step 5
Pick a theme for your site by choosing the Themes link from the Appearance tab in the left navigation. WordPress offers a wide variety of themes, which you can apply by clicking the Activate button underneath the individual theme graphic. Choosing a theme will not change your site content, but will simply apply the graphic scheme and text styles to existing pages.
Step 6
Customize your website by adding widgets. Choose the Widgets link from the Appearance tab and select from optional widgets that can add functionality to your website. Commonly used widgets include calendars, HTML text boxes, blog stats and file sharing.