How to Use WordPress For Your Small Business Blog? - Part 1

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According to John Chow there are only two types on the bloggers on the Net. Those who use WordPress and those who wish they use WordPress. Which one are you?

What is WordPress?

I assume you know what a blog is if you are reading this. Perhaps you are planning to launch your own blog. These days most of the people have their own blogs; and on as many different topics as there are people. WordPress is one the most popular blog platforms.

“WordPress is a state-of-the art semantic personal publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability” - Wordpress.org

This definition is certainly not helpful on explaining what WordPress is. Basically WordPress is a free completeley pre-written, pre-defined ready to run blog platform. You can download it as is, install it to your server; change the title and the contact information; and run it as is; basically right out of the box. Configure it for your needs, post a few articles, and send it off to your friends and family; and you have a blog! That is the basics of WordPress, but it is much more powerful than that.

With Wordpress you can organize and change your site any way you choose. You have the ability to change all the text on the site; everything from Menu text and titles, all the way through to the placement of all fields, graphics, links, pictures, etc. WordPress is 100% configurable any way you choose; once you know how.

Wordpress is managed through the administration area; which allows you to manage all the aspects of your site. You can create new categories, pages, change templates, add links, and many more features.

You don’t need to know HTML to use WordPress. However having at least a little knowledge about HTML will be helpful when configuring your theme.

Installing WordPress could not be simpler thanks to the forethought and assistance of those who have helped in the development of the scripts. Basically the only thing you need to know how to do is upload or FTP the script files to your server and change permissions to certain files or folders. If your not sure how to do this; please check with your particular web host for further instructions.

One of the nicest features of WordPress is flexibility. You can download readily available themes; upload them to your server; login to the Admin panel and switch themes in a matter of seconds. Click ‘View Site’ and your entire blog now has a brand new look. Themes come in many different styles using different page widths, different headers with or without graphics. You can have themes with 2 columns or 3 columns.

What is a WordPress theme?

A theme generally describes the ‘skin’ of the website. A skin includes colors, graphics and layout. Keep in mind that even though you choose a different theme than the default, you can still change most of the characteristics. Some of these changes are more complicated than others. Some will be handled from a simple Presentation page while others will require that you modify one of the actual PHP files.

Where to find WordPress themes?

There are thousands of free themes all around the internet. However there is one location you should add to your favorites if you are looking for WordPress themes. It’s called the ‘theme viewer’ and can be found here:

http://themes.wordpress.net/

When you visit this website for the first time you will be amazed to see how many great free themes there are. You can simply customize those themes and have your own good looking blog. The themes in this website are available to everyone. If you don’t choose one of the most popular, chances are you will never find a blog with the same theme as yours. And if you customize it for your needs then you will have a great looking and unique theme at no cost.

Why WordPress instead of Blogger?

Have you ever used Blogger, Google’s free blogging platform. Blogger.com is the best-known blogging websites on the internet. The major drawback of Blogger is that you don’t own the website. At any time Blogger can delete your username, blogs, or profile resulting in the loss of all your efforts.

As a small business owner, you should have your own domain and blog. Never ever put your own business and hours and hours of hardwork into a website that you don’t own and can not control. Because of the wide range of plugins and widgets, WordPress is basically unlimited in its ability to perform for your small business.

In the coming 4 parts we will discuss how to use WordPress to promote your blog and monetize it with affiliate programs and advertisement. The aim of this blog is to add value to your business. I would be more than happy to receive your comments and questions about Part 1.

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