Learn how to make an impressive blog using WordPress for free with or without your own hosting account.

Series
This is the second part of our How to start blogging series.
Part 1 The What, Who, How, Where & Why of Blogging – So what is a blog? And who blogs anyways?

WordPress

WordPress is a very friendly CMS (Content Management System) that allows anyone without any programming knowledge whatsover to start blogging quickly upon installation. WordPress.com boasts nearly 4 million WordPress users!

As I mentioned in my previous post, all the previous blogs I mentioned, are possible to create using, or might already be using WordPress! In other words, you can create a high quality blog with WordPress. We use WordPress as well here at Talk Binary.

So how do I start?

Simply head over to WordPress.com and register if you don’t already own your own domain! Registration takes as little as five minutes. You’ll then be owning something such as http://username.wordpress.com

If you have your own domain and hosting, check with your provider if they provide free installation of WordPress. Nearly all hosting companies have such free service available.

If you have your own domain and hosting but it doesn’t provide a free installation, then simply download WordPress! It has a famous 5-minute installation so you can get started right away!

Your WordPress Blog

Upon completion, you’ll be greeted with the following. Your very first blog!

I’ll explain the various sections of your newly created blog!

Header
The header usually contains the logo. In this case, it contains the name of the blog with a neat little catchphrase.

Footer
The footer is at the bottom of your page and usually displays Powered by WordPress. It also contains different sections. Check out different blogs to know what I’m talking about.

Blog Entries
The blog entries are what make up most of this blog. The first blog post is Hello World! It contains the title, date, and content.

Pages
Pages usually tend to be just that pages. Pages with information such as About, Contact, Guestbook, and such. You can create these using your WordPress Dashboard.

Archives
Archives show in chronological order the posts you published by months.

Categories
Similar to the Categories on this site, categories separate blog entries from one topic to another. There may be sub-categories, and more.

Meta
Meta is where you log into your Blog, and contains other information related to your blog.

Remember, you can customize the look of your blog entirely! So you don’t have to have the previous sections mentioned!

The WordPress DashBoard

Log into your Site Administration area, and you’ll be greeted with the WordPress Dashboard. Here you will be able to write posts, pages, and much much more. The interface is simlpy inviting and very user friendly so don’t worry about getting lost or doing something wrong. The best way to learn is to simply to try everything out!

So what’s next?

That is it! You created your very own free blog! If you need more assistance leave a message, we’ll be more happily willing to help you out with your installation.

In the next part of the series, I’ll be showing you how to format a post, as well as customizing the look of your blog with themes, and plugins.