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显示标签为“Wordpress”的博文。显示所有博文

2013年9月1日星期日

漂亮实用的wordpress图片放大灯箱特效插件Auto Highslide中文完善版

auto highslide图片插件
之前我用的是FancyBox for WordPress,它曾是我最满意的JS 图片灯箱效果。它有丰富的后台设置,可以按你的需求更改画框,背景色,透明度等。jak换掉它因为应为美中不足的是点击图片放大后只能按屏幕显示大小同比例缩放图片,不能放大至图片实际大小,当你插入一张比屏幕长的图片时点击图片后显示的图片效果也许比你页面中的图片还小。
Auto Highslide完美支持图片实际大小,可随意拖动观赏大图细节哦o(≧v≦)o~~好棒,当鼠标移动到图片时显示放大镜图标,这样不要特意写“点击图片放大”浏览者就知道是放大图片。此外还支持键盘“左”、“右”方向键,查看“上一张”、“下一张”图片快捷键功能。

FancyBox for WordPress效果演示

FancyBox for WordPress效果图

Auto Highslide使用方法及版本介绍

Auto Highslide作者是Showfom(现在已经访问不到它的主页了)。后来经过weisay修改,丰富了鼠标移至图片时的菜单及图片下方的标题,显示效果比原版好。在weisay修改的修改版上我又做了一些修改。使显示效果更帅气,图片以外蒙罩层具有拉丝效果。

原版Auto Highslide效果下图

原版auto-highslide显示效果图
原版auto highslide在超大图显示上虽然有按屏蔽比例缩放功能但点击几乎占据了整个页面。

weisay修改版Auto Highslide

演示如下图
weisay修改版auto highslide
weisay修改版使用说明
大家是否有疑问weisay的蒙罩层是暗灰色,为什么上图显示是白色?应为此修改版插件默认的蒙罩层是就是白色,如果你想换成黑色,可以修改插件里面的highslide.css,将里面最后的
.highslide-dimming{background:#fff;}
改为
.highslide-dimming{background:#000;}
当然你也可以定义成其他颜色,看你自己的喜好了。
如果你在图片里面定义了alt属性,那么当你点击图片显示效果的时候,你会发现你的alt属性里面的文字会显示在图片底部。

Auto Highslide中文jak完善版

演示如下图
auto highslide完善版演示
使用说明
蒙罩层默认Opacity值是0.8,可以根据你主题情况和喜好更改,比如我首页订阅的就是0.9,找到插件中auto-highslide.php文件将
hs.dimmingOpacity = 0.8;
改为
hs.dimmingOpacity = 0.9;
Opacity是什么?我来作下解释,透明度,解释完毕。
注意:
  • 任何图片放大插件要达到放大效果都必须使图片链接到原图地址,就是a标签。
  • 安装好插件之后,如果点击图片一直显示“正在加载”,就是不能显示展开效果的话,看看你使用的主题是否加载了jQuery,此插件是需要jQuery支持的。
  • 原图可以很大,但是要定义width的大小,这样图片就会被压缩到页面合适的大小了,点击就能显示大图片。比如我的文章页内容显示宽度是680像素。
    ”这里填写的文字会显示在图片底部”

2013年7月24日星期三

我爱水煮鱼使用的 WordPress 插件

构建一个强大的 WordPress 博客需要哪些插件?其实很少,今天就给大家介绍下我爱水煮鱼装的 WordPress 插件。只要这些插件你就可以构建一个强大的 WordPress 博客。

日志相关的 WordPress 插件

日志相关的 WordPress 插件首先是相关日志:WP Related Posts,它可以通过 tag 来产生相关日志列表,让你网站增强粘性。
第二个我觉得必须安装的是:WordPress 文章目录插件,WordPress 文章目录插件在日志的右侧加入一个文章目录,让整篇日志更好导航,读者也可以在阅读之前知道这篇文章的大概,另外这样也能增强网站 SEO 也是帮助的,因为 Google 可以索引内部锚点链接。
第三个是:WordPress 心情评论插件,WordPress 心情评论插件让博客的读者无需评论,而通过简单的点击就能表达自己对当前文章的感受,非常方便,这样满足读者的快速评论的需求,而博客的作者也能通过这个知道自己文章给用户的感受,进一步进行改进。
第四个是:Post Type Switcher,如果你和我一样,使用了多个自定义日志类型,需要它们之间进行转换的换,推荐你使用这个插件。

留言相关的 WordPress 插件

留言相关的插件我觉得只需装 多说这个社会化评论插件即可,它能为你的 WordPress 博客提供新浪微博、QQ、人人、开心、豆瓣、网易微博、搜狐微博、百度等多帐号登录并评论功能,帮你搭建更活跃,互动性更强的评论平台。有了多说这个社会化评论插件,基本留言相关的插件都无需再安装了,并且整个网站效率更高,互动性也更好。

统计相关的 WordPress 插件

统计相关的插件,首先推荐:PostViews,PostViews 只可以统计日志浏览次数,并且基于此产生流行日志,我还基于这个插件写了一个小插件:让你如何在 WordPress 后台显示日志浏览数
如果仅仅通过日志浏览数不能满足你对统计的需求,建议你安装Analytics360,它可以让你在 WordPress 后台查看 Google Analytics 统计。
最后一个是:社会化分享 WordPress 插件,社会化分享 WordPress 插件集成当前国内主要社会化分享按钮,并且和 Google Analytics 深度整合,可以在 Google Analytics 中查看社会化分享按钮点击的统计,以及社会化网络来源的流量。

数据库相关的 WordPress 插件

数据库优化:Optimize DB,在 WordPress 后台直接优化和整理 MySQL 数据表。
数据库备份:Wordpress Database Backup,让你有规律的备份博客数据库。

WordPress 缓存插件

由于我的服务器是 MediaTemple 的 VPS,支持自己管理和安装组件,所以我用的是 MemcachedBatCache,如果你的服务器不支持,建议使用 WP Super Cache ,这个是最佳 WordPress 静态化缓存插件,有效降低你服务器负荷,提高博客反应速度。

SEO 相关的 WordPress 插件

目前我使用的是:Google XML Sitemaps,它可以生成博客的 sitemap.xml 的工具,让你的日志更快更好的被搜索引擎收录。

2013年7月3日星期三

JiaSale WordPress 插件:让你博客瞬间变成电商网站

构建一个这样的虚拟产品销售系统,并不是一件容易的事情,需要熟悉 WordPress 系统,需要去学习开发支付宝接口等等,总之成本太高,针对这些问题,JiaSale 推出一键式电商解决方案,只需一段简单的代码,即可让普通网站变身电商网站。
JiaSale
通过 JiaSale,用户仅需要选择自己想要的购物车类型,JiaSale 便可自动生成代码,再将代码插入到网站中的产品介绍页即可。网页上就会出现购物按钮、顶部购物条、侧边购物栏以及底部购物车等电商元素。用户申请代码后,除了在网站上增加购物元素外,JiaSale 还会为卖家提供一个管理后台,包括了订单管理、支付管理(支付仍然需要绑定支付宝)等。在卖家发货后,还可以打通快递查询接口。

JiaSale WordPress 插件

1. 为了让 WordPress 博客用户更加方便使用 JiaSale,我写了一个 JiaSale 的 WordPress 插件,让你的博客瞬间变成电商网站。
首先点击这里下载 wpjam-jiasale.zip,并上传激活。
2. 在 WordPress 后台 > 设置 > JiaSale购物按钮:将 JiaSale 后台【动态模板生成】的代码不做任何修改,直接贴到“JiaSale动态模板代码”中,日后所有交易均以此代码做为商品销售代码。
3. 然后在日志编辑页面,就可以输入商品的名称和价格即可。当然也可以直接输入静态代码:
JiaSale WordPress 插件

2013年3月7日星期四

如何用 WordPress 写出一篇“好看”的文章



一篇文章是否好看,无非在于两方面,第一个就是文章本身的内容,另一个就是文章显示的排版布局。潜行者m博客自创建以来,也已经过去了近两年的时间,这其中积攒了很多在 WordPress 写作的经验,特别是在文字排版这块。回首观看,早期的文章质量比现在的要差远了,本文就是总结一下对于使用 WordPress 写作文章排版的经验。

一些基础知识

在后台编写文章通常使用可视化的编辑器,你看到的排版布局就是比较具体的效果,但实际上数据是用 HTML 结构来记载的。例如,当你回车换行,那么在换行的地方系统就会加上一个段落标签(),当你插入一个连接的时候,用的就是锚标记()。HTML 是具有语义性的,根据 HTML 的语义性写出的一篇文章,对于 SEO 、排版都有好处。此外,WordPress 主题的作者,通常也会针对这些结构进行一些设计和样式处理,会使其显示的效果更好。

用标题划分文章层次

用标题划分文章层次
标题标签()是非常重要的一个 HTML 标签,它对于 SEO 也有很重要的作用。通常用它来划分文章的层次。写一篇文章,肯定要有一定的层次,也就是所谓的大论点、小论点等。通常的文章一般具有三个层次:文章标题、大标题、小标题,通常来说,对应的标签是 h1、h2、h3。对于有的主题来说,设计者会用 h2 作为文章标题,这点也需要注意。标题标签一共有六个(h1-6),分别代表不同的重要等级,实际应用当中,只会使用 h1-3。需要注意以下两点:
  • 内文标题层次不要高于文章标题。如果文章标题使用了 h1,那么内文大标题只能使用 h2。
  • 小标题包含在大标题中。分清楚小标题属于哪个大标题属于什么层次,不能把小标题和大标题的层次混合。
合理的使用标题划分文章层次,可以让文章变得更容易理解,对阅读者和 SEO 都有好处,更有一些插件可以根据文章的标题建立目录层次,例如 水煮鱼 开发的 TOC 文章目录插件

对于重要的文字进行加重处理

这一点大家都知道,不再赘述。但是要注意的一点,只对非常重要的关键词进行加重,加重的效果通常是文字加粗,这样可以吸引浏览者的目光,如果太多的话,就会分散阅读者的注意力,要尽可能的少。下图就是个加太多的例子。
对重要的文字加重

善用有序和无序列表

如果你在文中写的内容具有明显的并排性,可以作为一个列表,那么一定要使用无序列表(
    )或者有序列表(
      )。无序列表就是指没有顺序的列表。如果你想列举某项产品有什么样的有点,或者是一些赛事列表,那么你应该使用无序列表。有序列表是指一些有顺序的并排信息。如果你想写一下使用某个软件的四个步骤,或者是发布一个有明确顺序的资源列表,那么就用无序列表。
善用有序和无序列表
见过很多文章会对一些并排性的内容,手动编写诸如 1、2、3 之类的编号,其实这是错误的,应该使用有序列表, CSS 自动添加编号上去。

善用空格

空格是文章中比不可少的一部分,但是很多人用空格的方法是错误的。空格不是用来排版的,它不像是在 Word 之类的软件里面,使用空格在段落的开头空开两格。中文的写作习惯是在文章段落的开头,空开两个字符,这空开的距离,并不应该使用空格来实现,而是使用 CSS 对段落标签增加属性 text-indent 来实现的。这个是主题设计者的工作,如果你用的主题并没有做这个,那就不会自动空开了,你只能自己修改 CSS 或者用空格模拟空出两字的效果,但这是不合理的。
善用空格
那么空格究竟要用在什么地方呢?用在重要的关键词上面,特别是英文关键词。英文在中文文章中是个不太好处理的东西,绝大多数的作者会直接把英文字母和中文混写在一起,但是这样的显示效果并不好。具体对比效果如下图
善用空格
在稍微重要的关键词的两边,我加了两个空格,稍稍加一点距离,对于英文单词,除了空格之外还对首字母进行大写,两条文字一对比效果很明显就可以看出来。

标注文章引用内容

标注文章引用内容
有的文章可能会引用一些其他文章的资料、名人名言等,这样就需要选中这块文字,点击“块引用”,这样就可以告诉阅读者,这是一块来自他人的内容,我引用过来的。

用预格式化描述代码等有格式的内容

例如一段代码,通常有换行、空格之类的用来保持代码的结构,如果以普通的文字发布,可能会破坏这个结构,所以要用预格式化。
用预格式化描述代码

使用其他修饰的注意事项

其他的文字修饰还有很多,包括:斜体、删除线、下划线、颜色、字体大小等。这些文字修饰要慎用,用多了,会让阅读者感觉杂乱影响阅读心情。就颜色来说,一篇文章中最多不要超过两种颜色。
颜色不要超过两种

尽量多的使用图片

虽然不能极端的说没有图片的文章不是好文章,但是一篇好文章是肯定有图片的。文章中的图片主要有以下两个用处:
  • 与文章内容相符增强文章表现力
  • 缓和阅读中的视觉疲惫
所以,文章中,要尽量配图。配图也要跟文章主题相符合,例如:介绍人物的文章,配张人物图片;介绍软件的,配张软件截图;写心情生活类的,可以配张唯美的图片等等。

用心去写文章

一篇文章最吸引人的是文章的内容,再好的排版,没有好的内容,人们也不会去看的。所以要用心去写文章。
写之前有明确的目的(介绍自己的写作排版经验),有一个大体的构思(包括写哪几部分),然后觉得写出来会给阅读者一定的帮助,这时候就开始动手写。写的过程中,按照之前的构思,列出大纲和知识点收集整理相关资料,然后针对每个知识点去截图或者用 PS 作图来更形象的描述这个问题。写完并且上传图片之后,还要反复检查两边,看看是否有废话、错别字以及没介绍清楚的地方。
就本文而言,本人用了两个小时的时间来写作,为写出一篇有价值的文章,付出这些是值得的。

一个反例

下图是从 所谓刚子 博客上截取的,是一篇被我缩小的文章,整体是一大段文字没有任何的段落层次、修饰、图片,是一个非常好的反例。
一个排版不好的反例
如果只是一篇短小的文字,这样是可以的,如果是一篇很长的文字,不免让阅读者疲惫。

写在最后

用 WordPress 写出一篇好看的文章,首先要用心去写,写出一篇高质量、有阅读价值的文章,其次要对文章不同的内容进行修饰。本文就介绍了一些写作经验。
至于文章内容具体的修饰样式,是根据你用的 WordPress 主题而定。本人的原创主题 Qetro 就对文字的排版进行了一定的优化,如果你的博客写文字比较多一点,不妨试用一下看看效果。 ^_^

2013年3月2日星期六

How to add AdSense to WordPress

With WordPress you can easily add your AdSense code to your blog. In order to do this, first login to the administrative end of your website. Then, go to the Appearance -> Widgets menu.
In this page select to drag-and-drop a "Text" widget onto your registered sidebar.
Then you should add a title (in our case - Advertisement) and right under it the actual code that you have obtained from Google. Finally, click on the on the "Save" button right under it.
Well done! You have just added your AdSense code to your WordPress blog.
PreviousNext

Click Here

2013年2月26日星期二

Making the Best of Google AdSense in WordPress




Blog monetization is not a “must”, but it’s a very important source of motivation. Whether you’re blogging alone or along with some authors you gathered, earning even a few bucks a month can change your and/or your authors’ approach to your blog.

Since Google AdSense is one of the easiest and most popular ways for blog monetization, we’re going to see how to use it with a WordPress blog with multiple authors. (Although, this tutorial will also work for single bloggers.) We’ll be covering how to set up profile fields for authors’ AdSense ads and how to display those ads with a function, with a widget, with a shortcode and automatically inside posts.

  _____  

Warming Up: Setting Profile Fields for Authors’ Own Ads


Google accepts ads from multiple AdSense publishers in the same website as long as you don’t display ads from multiple publishers on the same page. Thus, we’re going to display our authors’ ads on their posts’ pages and display our own ads on other pages.

We could ask every author in our blog for their AdSense code blocks and insert them manually in our code, but asking them to provide the code themselves and inserting them dynamically would be a better idea. (Plus, there’s no fun in doing stuff manually.) The code below provides the functionality for our authors to update their profiles to insert their own AdSense ads:

// show the textarea fields for authors' to enter their AdSense ad codes
function wptuts_profile_adsense_show( $user ) {
        echo '

Your Google AdSense Ads

       
               
                       
                       
                        Your Google AdSense JavaScript code for the 300x250 ad space.
               
               
                       
                       
                        Your Google AdSense JavaScript code for the 468x60 ad space.
               
       
';
}
add_action( 'show_user_profile', 'wptuts_profile_adsense_show' );
add_action( 'edit_user_profile', 'wptuts_profile_adsense_show' );

// save the changes above
function wptuts_profile_adsense_save( $user_id ) {
        if ( ! current_user_can( 'edit_user', $user_id ) )
                return false;
        update_user_meta( $user_id, 'adsense_300x250', $_POST['adsense_300x250'] );
        update_user_meta( $user_id, 'adsense_468x60',  $_POST['adsense_468x60']  );
}
add_action( 'personal_options_update', 'wptuts_profile_adsense_save' );
add_action( 'edit_user_profile_update', 'wptuts_profile_adsense_save' );
?>

You can duplicate the table rows to add more ad types, if you want. Don’t forget to change the names and other parameters of the inputs, though.

  _____  

Building Our Main Function


Now, we get to the part where we build our main function that will be used both on its own and by other functions. Take a look at the code below:

// our main function to return the ad codes
// remember: other functions below use this function, too!
function wptuts_return_adsense( $ad_type = '468x60' ) {
        // the default ad codes - don't forget to change them!
        $default_ad_codes = array(
                '300x250' => 'http://dummyimage.com/300x250
" />',
                '468x60'  => 'http://dummyimage.com/480x60
" />'
        );
        if ( is_single() ) {
                global $post;
                $user_id = $post->post_author;
                $ad_code = get_user_meta( $user_id, 'adsense_' . $ad_type, true );
        } else {
                $ad_code = $default_ad_codes[$ad_type];
        }
        if ( $ad_code != '' ) {
                // we'll return the ad code within a div which has a class for the ad type, just in case
                return '
' . $ad_code . '
';
        } else {
                return false;
        }
}
?>

You see what it does?

  1. First off, we define some “default ad codes” to show other than post pages.
  2. Then we check if the page is a “single post page”.
  3. If it is a single post page, we fetch the ad codes from the post author’s profile and define it in the$ad_code variable. Here, notice that we’re also using the $ad_type parameter of the function.
  4. If it’s not a single post page, we’re defining the $ad_code variable with the default ad codes.
  5. And if the $ad_code variable is not empty, we return the ad code with a div surrounding it. (Otherwise, we return false.)

Done! You can use this function wherever you want inside your theme now – both inside and outside The Loop.

I love it when it’s so simple! :)

Remember: Google strictly prohibits you from displaying ads from multiple publishers on the same page. That’s why the main function (thus, other functions) will not display the “default ad codes” if the author didn’t provide their own codes in their profile. If we did that, we would most definitely get banned from Google AdSense.
  _____  

Creating the Shortcode


If you want to give your authors the liberty of adding their own ads anywhere inside their posts, you can use a shortcode like below:

// shortcode for the above function
// usage: [display_adsense ad_type="468x60"]
function display_adsense_sc( $atts ) {
        extract( shortcode_atts( array(
                'ad_type' => '468x60'
        ), $atts ) );
        return wptuts_return_adsense( $ad_type );
}
add_shortcode( 'display_adsense', 'display_adsense_sc' );
?>

It’s even simpler than the main function: It takes the ad_type parameter and passes it through our main function and returns the function.

If you don’t want any parameters and just return the main function, you don’t even need the code above! Just add this line after our main function:

// usage: [display_adsense]
add_shortcode( 'display_adsense', 'wptuts_return_adsense' );
?>

Our main function’s only parameter has a default value ('468x60', in our example), so the shortcode will display that kind of ad only.

  _____  

Inserting the Ads Automatically After “n”th Paragraph


You may not want to give the liberty to your authors to display ads in some cases. If you decide to insert their ads automatically, say, after the first paragraph of every post; the function below is exactly what you’re looking for:

// the function to insert the ads automatically after the "n"th paragraph in a post
// the following code is borrowed from Internoetics, then edited:
function wptuts_auto_insert_adsense( $post_content ) {
        if ( !is_single() ) return $post_content;
        $afterParagraph = 1; // display after the "n"th paragraph
        $adsense = wptuts_return_adsense( '468x60' );
        preg_match_all( '/<\/p>/', $post_content, $matches, PREG_OFFSET_CAPTURE );
        $insert_at = $matches[0][$afterParagraph - 1][1];
        return substr( $post_content, 0, $insert_at) . $adsense . substr( $post_content, $insert_at, strlen( $post_content ) );
}
add_filter( 'the_content', 'wptuts_auto_insert_adsense' );
?>

If you’re going to download the plugin that we’re building now (with the Download button at the beginning of the post), don’t forget that the line with the add_filter() function will be commented out. Uncomment it to enable this functionality.

  _____  

Building the AdSense Widget


Building widgets can seem tricky, but it’s actually really easy to make them. In our case, we’re just going to echo our main function and allow the admin(s) of your blog to set the default parameter for it:

// the widget to display the ads on the sidebar
class Wptuts_AdSense_Widget extends WP_Widget {
        public function __construct() {
                parent::__construct(
                        'wptuts_adsense_widget', // base ID of the widget
                        'Wptuts+ AdSense Widget', // the name of the widget
                        array( 'description' => 'Wptuts+ AdSense Widget Settings' ) // the description for the widget
                );
        }

        public function form( $instance ) {
                if ( isset( $instance[ 'ad_type' ] ) ) {
                        $ad_type = $instance[ 'ad_type' ];
                } else {
                        $ad_type = '300x250';
                }
                ?>
               
                 
               
               
               
        }

        public function update( $new_instance, $old_instance ) {
                $instance = array();
                $instance[ 'ad_type' ] = strip_tags( $new_instance[ 'ad_type' ] );
                return $instance;
        }

        public function widget( $args, $instance ) {
                echo wptuts_return_adsense( $instance[ 'ad_type' ] );
        }

}

function myplugin_register_widgets() {
        register_widget( 'Wptuts_AdSense_Widget' );
}

add_action( 'widgets_init', 'myplugin_register_widgets' );
?>

The widget also has a very simple function: If it’s a single post page, display the author’s ad and if it’s not, display the default ad.

  _____  

Conclusion


If you’re running a blog with more than one author without a capital to pay for their work, these tricks could motivate them to write more often. They would even share and promote their own posts more eagerly – after all, they will have their own ads displayed on the pages. It’s both clever and good!

Do you have any ideas about monetization of multi author blogs? Share your comments below!


2012年12月1日星期六

How to Launch a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less


How to Launch a Self-Hosted WordPress Blog in 20 Minutes or Less [Screencast]

The easiest way to build a platform in today’s world is to start a blog. While you can do this with free hosted options like WordPress.com, TypePad.com, and Blogger.com, you will get the most control by using self-hosted WordPress. This is what most serious bloggers use. It is what I use here at MichaelHyatt.com.
However, this is where many people get stuck. They assume that the process of setting up a hosting service and installing WordPress is complicated and time-consuming. It’s not.
(By the way, if you are not sure about the difference between hosted and self-hosted WordPress, check out this helpful infographic.)
In the video above, I show you how to setup your blog in twenty minutes or less. As a bonus, I explain to you how to write and publish your first blog post. If you don’t need this information yourself, perhaps you know someone who does. Please pass along the link to this post.
The good news is that you won’t need any technical expertise to setup your blog. I will keep the tutorial simple and walk you through the process, once step at a time.
If you prefer to read about the process rather than watch a video, you can do that too. I have written down all the steps here. This will also save you the trouble of taking notes as you watch the video.
Please understand: you can get everything you need just by watching the video above. The written material below is optional.
You can launch your blog by following these seven steps:
  1. Gather your resources. To set up a self-hosted WordPress blog, you will need:
    • A domain name
    • A credit card
    • 20 minutes (give or take)
    It’s easier if you haven’t already registered your domain. It’s also cheaper. I will show you how to get one for free, using the service I recommend in Step #2.
    However, if you have already registered your domain, no sweat. You will simply need to add an additional step. I will explain the process at the end of this post.
  2. Set up a hosting account. This is where your blog will “live.” This is a server in the cloud (i.e., a remote computer), where you will rent space to install the WordPress software and manage your blog. It’s far easier than it sounds. Stay with me.
    There are a hundreds of hosting services available—perhaps thousands. However, based on my experience and research, I recommend BlueHost. I believe it is the best option for most people for the following seven reasons:
    • Reason #1: Support. BlueHost has great 24–7 support via phone, e-mail, or chat. I have personally used it a few times and found the support staff to be courteous, professional, and helpful.
    • Reason #2: Reliability. BlueHost is super reliable. It boasts an uptime average of 99.9%. That’s about as good as it gets.
    • Reason #3: Ease of Use. BlueHost is super easy-to-use (as you can witness in the above video). In fact, shockingly so. They have worked hard to make it simple for non-geeks.
    • Reason #4: WordPress. Interestingly, WordPress itself only officially recommends three hosting services. BlueHost is number one. It hosts over 850,000 WordPress blogs.
    • Reason #5: No Limits. BlueHost offers unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, unlimited domains (i.e., you can host multiple blogs or sites on one account), and unlimited e-mail accounts.
    • Reason #6: Affordability. BlueHost is inexpensive—about $4.95 to $6.95 a month, depending on which plan you select. The longer you are willing to commit, the cheaper it is.
      Note: BlueHost is now offering a special for my readers for $3.95 a month. This is honestly a steal. Get it while you can. But be sure to use one of the links in this post to get this special offer.
    • Reason #7: Values. In its Terms of Service (see Section 10.03, BlueHost prohibits pornography, nudity, and other adult content. It strictly enforces this standard and deletes sites that violate it. Personally, I don’t want my blog sitting on the same server as some pornographer. If you feel the same way, you may be surprised to know that almost all of the most popular hosting services allow pornography on their servers.
    Note: I am a BlueHost affiliate, which means the company pays me a commission every time someone signs up via one of my links. But this didn’t influence my recommendation, because all hosting services have similar programs. I recommend BlueHost because I honestly believe they offer the best hosting available.
    You should also know that I do not use BlueHost for MichaelHyatt.com. My site is too big and complicated. It requires a dedicated server with a mirrored backup. However, I have my other sites on BlueHost, as do several of my family members and friends. BlueHost specializes in shared servers and it is the right choice for 95% of bloggers.
    By the way, BlueHost offers a thirty-day, money back guarantee, which is written into their Terms of Service. I have personally tested this and got my money back within a few hours. So there’s really no risk on your part.
    Okay, so if you are still with me, go to the BlueHost home page. Click on the Sign Up Now button.
    Now you need to decide whether you need a domain name or you already have a domain name. I’m going to assume that you haven’t previously registered a domain, using some other domain registration service (e.g., GoDaddy.com). If you have, I will explain what to do at the end of this post.
    Now enter your domain name in the left-most box, choose the appropriate extension (com, net, biz, whatever) and click on the Nextbutton.
    BlueHost Screen Shot
    Fill in your account information and then scroll down to select your package. As you can see, the prices range from $4.95 to $6.95 per month. It all depends on the length of your commitment.
    Note: BlueHost is now offering a special for my readers for $3.95 a month. This is honestly a steal. Get it while you can. But be sure to use one of the links in this post to get this special offer.
    Keep in mind, you will be required to pay the annual rate in advance. That’s how BlueHost is able to offer these super low prices. Here’s the math:
    • 12 months at $6.95 per month is $83.40 per year and $83.40 up front.
    • 24 months at $5.95 per month is $71.40 per year and $142.80 up front.
    • 36 months at $4.95 per month is $59.40 per year and $178.20 up front.
    I would not sign up for any of the other services listed on this screen, but that’s up to you. The only one I might consider is “Domain WhoIs Privacy,” especially if your home address and your billing address are the same.
    Now enter your billing information. Confirm that you have read and agree with BlueHost’s Terms of Service, and then click on the Nextbutton. The system will now verify your credit card information.
    BlueHost will next ask you to “Select the Upgrades that Best Suit Your Needs.” I would skip all of these. Click the Complete button at the bottom of the page.
    Now you need to choose a password for your account. Click on theCreate your password link:
    BlueHost Screen Shot
    Enter a password and an optional PIN number. (Make sure you write these down somewhere.) Click the Submit button. Then you will be asked to login to your domain. Use the password you just selected and click on Login.
    Now BlueHost will take you through “Getting Started.” It will ask you a few questions. This is really just a customer survey. Answer the questions and then click on Submit.
  3. Step 3: Install WordPress. Don’t be intimidated by this step—it’s amazingly simple. The process used to be complicated, and you had to be a semi-geek to pull it off. But BlueHost now makes it super-simple. Trust me, anyone can do this.
    You should be looking at your C-Panel (i.e., “Control Panel.”) If you aren’t, click on the button that takes you there. Then close the welcome message by clicking on the link that says, No thanks, I’m fine.
    Scroll down the page to ”Site Builders.” Click on the WordPress logo and wait for the new page to load. At the bottom of that page, click on theInstall button. (If you get lost, watch the video.)
    The WordPress installation screen has four steps:
    • Step 1: Installation Preferences. By default, BlueHost will select the most current, stable version. That’s what you want, so leave it as is. In the field where it says, “Where would you like WordPress installed?” just leave it blank. This is really for more advanced users who want a custom installation.
    • Step 2: Advanced Options. Give your site a new name. Then give yourself a username and password. I would make it something other than “Admin.” Make sure you have selected “Automatically create a new database.”
    • Step 3: Select Plugins and Themes. I would uncheck all of these. You can reselect them later if you need to.
    • Step 4: Read the Legal Information. Check the box that says you have read the terms and conditions of BlueHost’s licensing agreement.
    Now click on the Complete button. BlueHost will tell you it is installing WordPress. (You should see a progress meter.) When it is done, you will get a screen with your Blog URL, Login URL, username, and password. BlueHost will also e-mail this information to you, but I like to have a backup. I would write it down or take a screenshot.
    You’re making great progress! Now things will speed up considerably.
  4. Step 4: Load your new blog. Simply click on the blog URL address. Your new blog should load in a new browser tab.
    As you can see, there’s nothing very fancy here. WordPress uses a verygeneric theme by default. But that’s the beauty of WordPress. There arethousands of themes available. I use StandardTheme. Regardless, you can customize your blog to your heart’s content.
  5. Step 5: Log into WordPress. While you’re still on your blog’s home page, scroll down to the Login link in the lower right-hand side of the sidebar. Click on the link.
    You should now be looking at your WordPress login page.
    WordPress Login Screen
    Now enter your username and password. (Remember, you wrote these down in Step 3.) You will soon see a welcome screen. For now, clickDismiss.
    You are now looking at the WordPress “Dashboard.” Sometimes, bloggers refer to this as the WordPress back-end. The front-end is what your readers see—your normal blog site. The back-end is what you see—how you control what appears on the front-end.
  6. Step 6: Write your first post. Click on the Posts | Add New option in the left-hand side menu. You should now see the New Post screen.
    Enter the title of your post, perhaps something like, “Welcome to My Blog.” (I know, clever, right?)
    Now write your first post in the field directly below the title. Perhaps you could explain why you are starting your blog, the topics you plan to write about, and how often you intend to post.
    Now click the Publish button. This literally publishes your post for the world to see. You can click on the Preview Changes button to see it.
    Congratulations! You have just published your first post on your very own self-hosted WordPress blog.
  7. Step 7: Bookmark your blog. You’ll want to come back to your blog on a regular basis, so it’s a good idea to bookmark the two main pages: the front-end and the WordPress back-end.
    In case, you have already closed the page to the back-end, you can re-open it by going to: http://[the name of your blog]/wp-admin.
If you have followed my instructions, you now have your very own self-hosted WordPress blog. Pretty exciting, huh?
If you know someone else who could benefit from this information, please pass along the link to this post. If you would like to embed the screencast in your own blog, please feel free to do so. You can find the video on both Vimeo andYouTube.
Optional: What if you have already registered your domain name on another service?No big deal. The first thing you will need to do is to point your domain name to the BlueHostservers. This will vary depending on where you registered it. BlueHost describes the process here.
For example, at GoDaddy, where I have some domains registered, you log in, then go toDomains | Domain Management screen:
GoDaddy Domain Management
Now click on the domain name you want to point to BlueHost. You should now be looking at the “Domain Details” page. Scroll down to the bottom, left-hand side of the page. You should see a section called “Nameservers”:
GoDaddy Nameservers Page
Click on Set Nameservers. A new screen should pop-up.
  • Enter ns1.bluehost.com in the field for Nameserver 1.
  • Enter ns2.bluehost.com in the field for Nameserver 2.
Click OK. That’s it. Now log out. It typically takes 24–48 hours for these changes to take effect. You might get lucky, and it will start working in an hour or two.
Please note: BlueHost or your Registrar (the company from whom you bought your domain) may change their procedures from time to time. If you have any problems, please check with them. I do not provide technical support for this process.
Once you have done this, you can begin the process of setting up your WordPress blog. In Step #2, after you click Sign Up Now, you will need to enter your domain name in the right-most box that says, “I Have a Domain Name.”
BlueHost Screen Shot
Now click the next button. Everything else should be the same. If you get stuck, you may need to wait for the change in your Nameservers to take effect before proceeding. Be patient.