Anyone fancy giving me an idiot's guide to a new website?

1. 78

   LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

   I have registered my new domain. I'm a competant computer user, but no computer expert.
   
   I've added Wordpress. Can anyone suggest a good beginner's guide to making the most of it?

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      Uninvited Writerposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      I'm using Wordpress and so is Dorsi; Lissie is too. I'm certainly no expert but I can help you with basics.

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2. 58

   Mark Knowlesposted 15 years ago

   What do you want to do with it?

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      Mishaposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Actually this is the question that has to be answered way before you buy a domain

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         Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         Good point. But this is the eighth thing you learn

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3. 78

   LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

   Ah, sorry to be so thick.
   
   Good point.
   
   I know what I want to do with it, don't worry, and I did work that out before I registered the name.
   
   I want to create a site with as much interesting material as possible about English history, tradition, and culture.

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      Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      In that case - you are good to go. WP is excellent - make pages out of the detailed stuff you want to get inti, and posts out of your regular updates.
      
      I use semiologic WP but the latest incarnations of the standard software are pretty good. You can make it look any way you like
      
      a couple of examples:
      
      Painting yachts in France
      
      
      Solar power
      
      Look different but work the same.

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4. 64

   Mishaposted 15 years ago

   Well, with the help of themes and plugins you can do almost everything on wordpress, including forums. There are countless guides on the net, I think one of the best being from Sherman Hu. Try to start here: http://www.wordpresstutorials.com/

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5. 78

   LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

   Thanks both, much appreciated.

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6. 78

   LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

   Thanks for all the help, I'm learning, slowly and painfully.
   
   I'd love some help with these two questions:
   
   1. With my tagline, it spills over the edge of the box and I can't find out how to change that.
   
   2. When installing plugins, I'm asked for Hostname, Username and Connection type. I don't know what these are.

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7. 58

   Mark Knowlesposted 15 years ago

   Are you trying t install plugins through the WP interface - usually that just requires your FTP details.

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      Lissieposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      Thats a first - Mark you're wrong :-) The latest version of WordPress 2.7 - has a cool little feature where you don't have to do the ftp bullsh*t. Instead go to plugins page in your wordpress control panel - go right to the bottom you will see a link which says "new plugin/installer functionality" Click on that and search for what you want - it will bring up a list click install - it will open up a window and click install now.
      I have way too many plugins on my current blog - actually you just gave me an idea for a hub - I'll be back with it ...

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      1. 58

         Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         So - it can upload software to your site without knowing your ftp details?
         
         I never use the standard version - I only use semiologic.

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8. 65

   BristolBoyposted 15 years ago

   I must admit that I have no idea how to help you but good luck - I am sure it will be an excellent website with loads of traffic going by your hubs!

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9. 78

   LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

   I'm sorry, I know I'm being stupid.
   
   I went to that page, Lissie, and when I click "install" it says:
   
   Connection Information
   
   To perform the requested action, connection information is required.
   
   Hostname    
   Username    
   Password    
   
   And I don't know username and password for what, or hostname for what either!

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   1. 58

      Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

      It needs your ftp details lol
      
      Hostname = Your website address
      Username = Your ftp login name
      Password = Your ftp password
      
      

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         Hauntyposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         All these you can get from your host service provider.

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      2. 78

         LondonGirlposted 15 years agoin reply to this

         And how do I find out what those are?

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         1. 58

            Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

            Well, I assume you know the first one and you will need to check with your hosting provider for the others - or set the ftp transfer details if you haven't already.

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            1. 78

               LondonGirlposted 15 years agoin reply to this

               I do know the first. How do I set ftp transfer details?
               
               Thank you very much for your patience.

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               1. 58

                  Mark Knowlesposted 15 years agoin reply to this

                  That will depend on your hosting site. They should also have an FAQ somewhere with instructions. You should be able to find that while you are logged into your web hosting account.

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10. 72

    Hauntyposted 15 years ago

    LondonGirl, I began with Wordpress too, however, I found that the wordpress community is pretty slow to help me. Their faqs are a labyrinth too.
    
    There is another content management system that's way easier to learn and use. The community here is eager to help you with any question. It's called Drupal. Drupal can do way more than WP. You can even create a website like Hubpages. If interested, the best book that takes you from the basics to becoming a confident user is
    Building Powerful and Robust Websites with Drupal 6: Build your own professional blog, forum, portal or community website with Drupal 6 by David Mercer available from Amazon, and aslo posted by several bloggers thru rapidshare.
    
    Drupal's website is www.drupal.org
    It's a long journey to learn to make a great website, but it's worth it. Good Luck!

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11. 79

    SweetiePieposted 15 years ago

    I found the wordpress set-up to be nice, but you can build a competent website without it.  I host an arts and crafts blog and several other sites through web.com, and I did not have to do anything extra plugin my blog posts or google adsense. The beauty of the hosting service is even someone without the slightest knowledge of html can add things and create a site layout. It also allows me to design the background exactly the way I like, which is not an easy thing to do with the wordpress plug in.

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12. 78

    LondonGirlposted 15 years ago

    I've emailed them, hope they give me a sensible answer (-:
    
    Thanks again, all.

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