Art of Blogging

These are specific instructions for installing WordPress MU. WordPress MU is a multiuser blog script. This means an unlimited number of users can have an unlimited number of blogs on one WordPress install. If you just want one blog, this is NOT the tool for you!

I hope they help!

(more…)

As you start hacking your blog into shape, sooner or later, you will break it. This can range from a simple “oops” to something catastrophic. Obviously, the second end of the spectrum is very bad.

Setting up a new theme can sometimes take hours if a lot of changes are needed or you are learning something new. Having your blog not work while you learn how to hack it up is never a good thing. Strangely enough, learning how to modify a blog theme is much more stressful when you know that your blog is broken.

(more…)

On the off chance that you might have missed it, I am not a huge fan of spending a lot of time on design. Unless you are trying to market your great design skills, of course.

That said, I will agree that the default WordPress theme (or any other script’s default theme) is boring. Sooner or later, I will change this theme. Maybe. It is still low on the priorities.

(more…)

As I said yesterday on Search Engine Optimization, take a break!

I know it looks like I am not taking a break like I said, but that is today’s lesson.

Write your stuff in advance and your blog can run like clockwork even if you take a month off.

In the future, we will go into some real automation methods for blogging, but for now, start learning how to make a blog work properly and then you can get into all the cool things. If you have been paying attention to me so far, you already have several articles in some shape or form in your admin. Do yourself a favor and instead of publishing them in order, save a couple specifically for a rainy day. If your blog is a blog where you just write about what is in your head and sharing some of your prose, save some of your poems to publish on days when you don’t feel like writing or just can’t cause you couldn’t spend any time at a keyboard.

By the way, articles in my admin that are done i mark by putting “(d)” at the end of the title so I can see at a glance what is ready for days like today.

If you read this on December 25th, Bah Humbug! Aren’t you glad I gave you this drivel to read?

If you read this anytime after, I hope you and yours had a great holiday!

Sometimes you have to move from one server to another. It can be a daunting task and can be catastrophic to your online presence. It is best to be prepared. Properly prepared, migrating a live install of WordPress is a fairly simple procedure.

(more…)

Immediately after installing WordPress, I configure it with the basics.

Go to Manage –>Posts and edit the default first post or delete it.

Go to Manage –>Comments and edit the default first comment or delete it.

(more…)

These are specific instructions for installing WordPress 2.

I hope they help!

Step One: Create a database for your blog. Create a user and access rules for that DB as needed.

(more…)

This is the longest night of the year in the Northern Hemisphere. The Winter Equinox! Ok, some people say it is tomorrow, but they are obviously just wrong. It’s dark. And Cold.

Good thing I am in the lab where it is warm.

(more…)

Blog’s all have a navigation column and in WordPress, this is called the Sidebar. The actual file that controls this located in your themes/ directory and is called sidebar.php. If you want to add things like advertisement to your sidebar, this is the file to edit. Notice, if you change your blog theme, you will have to edit the new sidebar.php in the new theme. Today, I will show you how to find this file and how to edit it.

Before we get started…

(more…)

I received an email the other day from one of the various marketing gurus I listen to that directly applied to Rule One.

This email started like this:

(more…)