1. richard kong
arlington heights memorial library
BLOGGING WITH
WORDPRESS.COM

2. what will we cover?
1. setting up a new blog/website
2. customizing the theme and more
3. creating and editing posts
4. creating and editing pages
5. inserting images and video
6. advanced topics (comments, domain registration, mobile app, etc.)
7. hands-on practice

3. what is a blog?
/blôg/
Noun
A type of website on which an individual or group of
users record opinions, information, etc. on a regular
basis.
Verb
To add new material to or regularly update a blog.

4. who’s blogging?
• CNN: http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/
• NYTimes: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/blogs/directory.html
• Mashable: http://mashable.com/
• Fortune 500 companies: UPS http://blog.ups.com/
• Professional bloggers: Heather Armstrong http://dooce.com/
• Normal folks like you and me: AH Moms http://www.arlingtonheightsmoms.com/
• The Library: Staff Choices Blog http://ahml.info/borrow/ra/staff_choices

5. what is wordpress.com and how popular is it?
“a hosting platform that makes it easy for anyone to
publish online. you don’t have to download software, pay
for hosting, or manage a web server.”
http://en.support.wordpress.com/
“today wordpress powers one of every 6 websites on the
internet, nearly 60 million in all, with 100,000 more
popping up each day. those run through its cloud-
hosted service, which lets anybody create a free website
online, attract 330 million visitors who view 3.4 billion
pages every month.”
http://www.forbes.com/sites/jjcolao/2012/09/05/the-internets-mother-tongue/

6. wordpress.com vs. wordpress.org
http://en.support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
WordPress.com is a hosting platform that makes it easy for
anyone to publish online. You don’t have to download
software, pay for hosting, or manage a web server.
WordPress.com has hundreds of themes, and includes the
functionality of many plugins, but you can’t upload your
own plugins or themes.
WordPress.org offers free software that you can install on a
web server. You can upload and install themes and
plugins, run ads, and edit the database.

7. getting started at wordpress.com

8. creating a new wordpress.com account

9. upgrading option
Click “Create Blog”
for a free blog

10. confirming registration in your email

11. adjusting your blog title and tagline

12. adjusting your blog title and tagline

13. choosing a theme
Premium
themes
are not
free

14. creating your first post
tags

15. inserting an image
click to
insert
image or
drag and
drop file
onto
editor

16. inserting a video
copy and paste a youtube url (link)
into post and publish.
more video options at
http://en.support.wordpress.com/
videos/youtube/

17. checking the public view

18. getting to your dashboard

19. understanding the dashboard

20. choosing and customizing your theme

21. creating a new post
NOTE: Posts are displayed in the order in which they are published on your front page.

22. editing a post

23. creating a new page
NOTE: Pages are best for timeless (i.e., static) content like About, Contact, etc.

24. making a page your frontpage

25. handling comments

26. discussion settings

27. domain registration

28. wordpress mobile app
Available for iOS (Apple App Store) and Android (Google Play)

29. 1. visit wordpress.com
2. create an account or login to your existing account
3. create a new post
4. create a new page
5. continue to practice and ask if you need help
now it’s your turn
please fill out the
class evaluation
form before you
leave.
thanks!

30. visit wordpress.com help and tutorial sites:
http://support.wordpress.com/
http://learn.wordpress.com/
schedule an appointment:
http://ahml.info/appointment
need more help?

31. the studio: digital media lab
video editing, music, design
software, scanners, cameras,
production room, and more