Creating a WordPress blog can seem daunting when you contemplate doing it off of the official WordPress site where you simply point and click your way through the options until it’s published.
There are technical installation steps to intimidate you, aesthetic issues to consider, search engine optimization strategies to address and content creation to intimidate you right out of having the blog you’ve always wanted.
Once you get past your fears and find a good set of tutorials, you’ll have the confidence it requires to create a WordPress blog with ease. The first time you do it, go slow and make sure you implement all of the steps.
As you become accustomed to the blog navigation on the dashboard, you’ll be tweaking it to your own preferences without hesitation. Before you install WordPress on your domain, consider why you’re choosing a blog format over that of a static HTML site.
Some people theorize that Google has a deep affinity for bloggers because of the social elements they provide paired with regular updates. Others simply say a blog is more optimized for search engine spiders, whereas a static site sometimes gets outdated and stale.
Creating a WordPress blog is a good business move for entrepreneurs whose business is online (or even an offline entity that needs an online web presence). Virtually any business model can be supported through the use of a WordPress blog, including affiliate marketing, info product sales, tangible promotions, services, and more!
When you go through this process, you’ll need to take it in stages, breaking it down into specific steps along the way. For instance, you’ll be registering a domain, getting hosting, installing WordPress, and then customizing the site to suit your business needs.
As you work more with WordPress, you’ll find that sometimes you have some tough choices to make. The wonderful thing about these sites is you have the ability to quickly switch things around, tweaking them for your personal preferences or so that the blog performs better in the search engines for you.
By creating a WordPress blog, you’re setting up a home for your brand on the ‘net. Don’t think that the entire setup has to be done in a day. You can make a blog go live as you customize it and allow your visitors to see the changes along the way.
Don’t expect a sudden flood of traffic the day your site goes live. While Google may index it quickly, your content and SEO care-taking strategies are what will pull in a target audience who’s ready to listen to what you have to say.
Creating a WordPress Multi User Blog
You know how Arianna Huffington sold the Huffington Post for a whopping $315 million? Well you could shoot for something similar if you want to create a web presence that allows multiple users log in and contribute to the site. Even if you don’t want to dream big like a $315 million sale, you still might want or need to create a multi user WordPress platform. And it’s easy to do – even for the complete newbie.
Whenever you create your blog, log into the main dashboard. Click on Users and this is where the magic happens. You’ll be able to create as many users on different contribution levels as you want to.
First, click the Add New button at the top of the Users page. Users can’t register themselves – you have to manually set it up for them. But this is good because it protects your blog from abuse.
You’re going to enter a username and the person’s email (make sure they actually have a valid email address because the log in information will be sent to them there). You’ll type in their first and last name and can link to a website if they have one (and if you want it linked from your site).
Set up a password for them that’s secure – use a variety of lower and upper case letters, numbers and symbols to protect your blog from hackers. Then make sure the box is checked that says, “Send Password.”
Before you click the final Add User button at the bottom, make sure you select the Role of the new user appropriately. You’ll want to know the various roles and make sure the new user understands what they’ll be allowed to do, too.
A subscriber is simply subscribing to the blog to get notification whenever a new post is created. They are not contributors. A contributor lets others submit blog posts and manage them, but they can’t publish them without your approval – you’ll have to authorize publication.
An Author role is one that allows the new user to create, manage and publish their blog posts. This way you won’t have to go in and manually approve the posts yourself. But it should be someone you trust with the content of your blog.
An Editor can create, manage and publish posts and pages too, but they can also go in and manage other people’s posts. This is helpful if you need someone to help you manage the Contributors on your site for publication.
Don’t make anyone else an administrator unless you feel like you’re both on equal levels of ownership for the blog. And admin can do anything they wish on the blog – including altering your theme.