Archive | June, 2010

Choosing a WordPress Theme

Posted on June 21, 2010 by in Articles

There are two types of WordPress Themes or WP Themes: Free and Paid (or sometimes called Premium)

Some companies offer both Free and Premium WP themes, some offer subscription based themes where they launch new WordPress Themes each month.

For starters, I recommend using Free WordPress Themes first just to get the hang of using a new theme, there are many resources for Free WordPress Themes and we will feature a Free WordPress Theme once a week at this site.

There are literally thousands (or even millions) of Free and Premium WordPress Themes around the net, but you can also have a custom WordPress Theme. We will feature an article soon on how you can create your own WordPress Theme.

Choosing a WordPress Theme maybe very time consuming, but you can already narrow it down with these tips:
- Do you need a theme with fixed width or variable width?
- Do you want a 2 column or 3 column theme?
- Do you need a dynamic sidebar? (Some old wordpress themes do not support dynamic sidebar)
- If you are using the latest version of WordPress, make sure that the theme is compatible with your version.
- Colors: some themes have the functionality to change the color scheme, but most just has one color scheme.

Activate akismet plugin to lessen spam comments

Posted on June 17, 2010 by in Articles, WordPress Tips

One of the first things I do before launching a wordpress blog is to activate Akismet plugin.(Which is already a default plugin when you install wordpress)

What is Akismet?

Automattic Kismet (Akismet for short) is a collaborative effort to make comment and trackback spam a non-issue and restore innocence to blogging, so you never have to worry about spam again.

How to Activate Akismet Plugin?

1. In the wordpress admin, go to Plugins, then click Activate, to activate Akismet Plugin for wordpress.

2. A message now appears in the header to enter your Akismet API Key

Question: Where do you get your Akismet API key? You can get it here for Free

3. Now you have your Akismet API key, enter your Akismet API key. This message should appear.

Note: You can use this Akismet API key in an unlimited no. of personal blogs.

Although some spam comments may still appear, at least you can already lessen the spam comments with Akismet.

Happy blogging!

After WordPress Installation

Posted on June 7, 2010 by in Articles, SEO Tips, WordPress Tips

Most common settings I change after installing wordpress:

1. Permalinks

Setting->permalink settings
Custom structure – /%category%/%postname%/

2. WordPress Address, Blog Title an Tag line

Settings->general settings
Change wordpress address URL and blog address URL to include www
Blogtitle,and tagline

These changes are essential specially for Search Engine Optimization or SEO

Installing WordPress

Posted on June 5, 2010 by in Articles, WordPress Tips

Two options on installing wordpress in your web server or web hosting account.

Option 1: Most of web hosting companies comes with either Fantastico or Simple Scripts tool which can install various web applications like wordpress instantly.

Look for either of these logos in your Web Hosting Control Panel Account:
Simple Scripts LogoFantastico Logo

And look for WordPress and follow the instructions.

Option 2: Install WordPress Free Blogging Software by yourself in your own web server or web hosting account.

Things you need to install wordpress software:
- Access to web server/web hosting account via FTP or SSH
- FTP Client
- Browser

Step 1: Go to wordpress.org and Download the latest WordPress version and unzip the file.

Note: As of this writing, current version is 2.9.2 or you can download the 3.0 beta 2 version also

Step 2: Create a database and the corresponding user with privilege to the new database.

Step 3: Rename wp-config-sample.php file to wp-config.php.

Step 4: Edit wp-config.php using any text editor and put in the database name/user/password generated in Step 2.

Step 5: Upload the WordPress files in the desired location on your web server, either in the root or other folder location.

Step 6: Execute the WordPress installation script wp-admin/install.php in any web browser.

If you are having any trouble installing your wordpress software, please contact me

Difference between self-hosted WordPress and WordPress.com

Posted on June 2, 2010 by in Articles

What is the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com? This is one of the most common questions about wordpress users and most of the time new users are confused which to use since they go to wordpress.com even if they want a self-hosted wordpress blog.

wordpress.org logo

WordPress Free Blogging Software can be downloaded in wordpress.org, you can also find resources for wordpress software, themes and plugins in this site. Although you can download the software for free, you need a reliable web host for your wordpress blogging software, which may cost high specially if you have high traffic.

wordpress.com logo

With wordpress.com, it’s the same WordPress Free Blogging Software but with few limitation like you cannot install your own theme or plugin, but you can choose from those who are already pre-installed. You do not need to setup the software or look for a web host, just signup on wordpress.com for free and you have your own wordpress blog.

Know more about the difference between wordpress.org and wordpress.com

Welcome!

Posted on June 1, 2010 by in Announcements

Welcome to I Teach WordPress!

My name is Glenn Michael Tan, you can call me Mike! I have been using PHP since 2001 and WordPress since 2006.

Whether you are an Internet Marketer, ProBlogger, Web Developer or just starting out in Blogging, I can teach you how to customize and optimize your WordPress Blog/Website.

I also teach PHP/MySQL, HTML, CSS, Javascript/Ajax. plus tips on SEO and Social Media.