actually editing the WordPress configuration file, wp-config.php, so go through the steps carefully. Once you’ve got the database connection finished, now comes the fun part:
1 Click the Run the Install button.
2 Fill in the three items on this screen:Name your site. Since it’s on your computer, you can be as creative as you’d like, or you could just choose something as boring as “My Test Site.” You can change this anytime.Give WordPress an email address for communication purposes.Check the Allow My Blog to Appear in Search Engines Like Google and Technorati check box.
3 Click the Install WordPress button. WordPress creates the admin user and generates an initial login password for that user. This user differs from the WordPress database user you created in the previous section in that you will be logging into this account on a regular basis to administer your WordPress settings. Write this default password down or copy it to the Clipboard or a text file. You will need it to log in the first time. This information is also emailed to the address you listed on the Install screen.
4 Click the Login button. The standard WordPress login screen appears.
5 Type in admin for the username and the generated password from Step 3. Leave the Remember Me box unchecked. The admin account should only be used when you have specific administrative changes to make to your blog. You’ll create a separate user account for your everyday content needs in a few minutes. Click the Login button.
6 Your administrative dashboard appears. The first time you log in, WordPress reminds you that you used the autogenerated password and asks if you want to change it. The advantage of keeping the autogenerated password is that it is more secure, and using it makes it less likely that someone will steal your admin password and wreak havoc on your site. The disadvantage is that it’s usually harder to remember.
The installation is complete. You’ve got a content management system! Celebrate!
If you’re going to skip all the other aspects of setting up and installing your WordPress site, the one part you’ll likely want to have a hand in is probably the most fun, which is choosing your website’s design theme.
WordPress and its amazing community of programmers makes it easy to define a standard look for your site. A theme uses a web standard called cascading style sheets (CSS) to define the general look and feel of your site, promoting consistency from page to page. Themes often provide additional functionality beyond just how your site looks, and an array of options to give you more control over your site’s appearance just by checking boxes or clicking buttons.
WordPress includes a default theme with your installation and updates it every year. You’ll see the theme listed on your dashboard. Click the link to visit the Theme Management page. You should see a place to install new themes. On this page, you can access the WordPress Free Themes Directory and install new themes from among the thousands available. You can also find the theme directory at wordpress.org/extend/themes.
Click the links at the top to view featured themes highlighted by WordPress developers, along with the newest or most recently updated themes. Use the search box to find themes you may have heard of or that have particular keywords in their theme descriptions. The Feature Filter lets you check a box to find a theme with a feature set you want to have.
Once you find a theme you like, click Install Theme, and in seconds the theme will be available for your use. Click Activate to turn it on.
You can read more about WordPress themes in Chapter 2.
The new rules of website creation demand interactivity. You will be left behind if you don’t include social media buttons and use them to your advantage. These include the Facebook Like button, Twitter share button, the Google+ share button, and the LinkedIn profile button. Ideally, these buttons will appear on all the pages of your website—and in the case of Facebook, Twitter, and Google+ will be easily clickable on every post you write; your readers are far more likely to share your content through social media platforms if you make it easy for them.
Some themes incorporate social buttons like this or will require you to download and install such WordPress plugins as Social. Let’s walk through installing Social, which connects your WordPress site with your Twitter and Facebook accounts.
To install Social from the Add New plugin page, type social in the search box. This is a popular keyword, so you’ll see a lot of listings, but you’ll see this plugin at or near the top. Click Install Now. WordPress will download Social and install its files in the appropriate location. WordPress will then ask you to activate the plugin to turn it on. That’s it!
Build Your Audience Through a Regular Newsletter
One of your primary goals should be to turn your site’s visitors into your readers, and readers into fans. One of the better ways of cementing that writer-reader relationship is to correspond with them regularly. Your website should allow visitors to sign up for a newsletter to learn more about you and your activities. This chore has become a lot easier with the rise of mass email providers that don’t deliver piles of spam into every available email box. Instead, after taking a reader’s email address and later giving them a way to back out, you can deliver solid information about your writing, your events, and whatever else interests you.
Several companies offer mass email services, but we’ve gotten very comfortable with MailChimp. Besides allowing you to maintain a list of up to 2,000 subscribers at no charge, they offer simple integration with your WordPress site.
Signing up for a MailChimp account is pretty straightforward. Go to mailchimp.com and click the Sign Up Free button. Give them an email address, a user name, and a password. After you sign up, MailChimp will email you a confirmation link at the address you gave them. You then get to prove you’re not a spambot by entering a batch of stylized letters. Then log in with your username and password.
When you’ve set up your account, go to your website and pick up the free MailChimp for WP plugin by Danny van Kooten. This plugin creates a Subscribe form on your site and allows you to add a Subscribe link to comment and registration forms.
Check out the Getting Started with MailChimp page for information on setting up your lists, forms, and “campaigns” (that is, your newsletter).
You aren’t required to put out a newsletter on any schedule. If you blog regularly and want everyone on your list to see each post, you can email your list with every post. You can also simply write when something is worth passing on, like a release date for a new book. If you’re giving a reading, or going on tour, MailChimp lets you create sublists based on geography.
Optimize Your Theme for the Mobile Web
In the past, all you had to worry about when creating a website was how fast it loaded and how it looked on a square monitor attached to a desktop computer. Today, people access the web from traditional desktop PCs, laptops,
