Revised and Updated for WordPress Version 2.7.1  and available for FREE download NOW. There is a pdf version for MAC Users thanks to Scott Glasgow.

Learn to install and setup your own WordPress Blog with this easy to follow tutorial.

This Launching a WordPress Blog EBook is focused on giving a guideline for installing WordPress on your own host with your own domain or a sub-domain. It is intended as a beginner’s ebook and covers the basics. There are some advanced techniques included as well. It is essential that you start with Getting started with a WP Blog and follow step by step each page. Tick off each step as you go so you know you are following along. Having been through this process we have found this is truly the best way forward.

This checklist can be printed from the book and will give you an idea of the topics Covered Include:

• Getting started with a WordPress Blog
  • Check List – Print This
  • Requirements for Installing WordPress
  • Installing Database
  • Download WordPress
  • Configure wp-config-sample file
  • Configure a FTP Client
  • Installing WordPress
  • Setting up WordPress
  • Options Permalinks
  • Configure WordPress Categories
  • Setting WordPress Preferences
  • Installing WordPress Themes
  • Creating SEO Titles in WordPress
  • Disable NoFollow Attribute in WordPress
• Desktop Blogging Clients
  • Windows Live Writer
    • Setting Up Windows Live Writer
    • Creating Posts
    • Inserting Images
    • Options
    • Publishing
  • BlogDesk
    • Installing BlogDesk
    • BlogDesk Configuration
    • Creating Posts in BlogDesk
    • Inserting Images in Posts
    • Publishing with BlogDesk
    • BlogDesk Options
    • BlogDesk Extras
• WordPress Essentials
  • WordPress Plugins
    • Akismet Plugin
    • Sitemap Plugin
    • WordPress Database Backup
    • WordPress Ready Contact Form
  • How Trackback and Pingback works in WordPress
  • Moving a WordPress Blog
  • Moving Servers
  • Upgrading WordPress Program
  • WordPress API
  • WordPress Tips

Download your FREE Launching a WordPress Blog EBook NOW.

My next step was working on an eBook on with my fellow MVP Tina Clarke on Launching a WordPress Blog which is offered F REE to anyone interested. It is soon to be revised to cover the latest version of WordPress 2.7.

Today I had the opportunity to watch a video produced by fellow MVP, Morten Rand-Hendriksen
Using WordPress in Alternate Configurations – My WordCamp Whistler 09 Presentation. After watching it I am again excited about WordPress and what I can do with it. Morten suggest using it more like a CMS which is the abbreviation for Content Management System. He shows you how using WordPress and Expression Web 2, you can customize your site so it looks more like a web site and less like a blog yet still functions as a blog. The site he uses in the tutorial is one he did AnnyChih.com which is fantastic. You can watch Using WordPress in Alternate Configurations – My WordCamp Whistler 09 Presentation and see for yourself how it is done. He also provides the code snippets you will need to try out his suggestions.

Morten Rand-Hendriksen is the newest MS MVP – Expression Web and the author of  Sams Teach Yourself Microsoft Expression Web 2 in 24 Hours (Sams Teach Yourself — Hours) (affiliate link.)

WordPress Automatic Upgrade allows a user to automatically upgrade the wordpress installation to the latest one provided by wordpress.org using the 5 steps provided in the wordpress upgrade instructions.

I tried it out first on my test blog but it was so easy and quick following the instructions, I upgraded the other three.

To do a new installation of the program:

Step 1: Download the plugin from wordpress.org and unzip it.

Step 2: Upload wordpress-automatic-upgrade folder to the /wp-content/plugins/ directory

Step 3: Activate the plugin

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger screenshot.

Step 4: Run the plugin

Click on the thumbnail to view a larger screenshot.

WordPress automatic upgrade upgrades your wordpress installation by doing the following steps which are outlined in the wordpress upgrade process:

1. Backs up the files and makes available a link to download it.
2. Backs up the database and makes available a link to download it.
3. Downloads the latest files from http://wordpress.org/latest.zip and unzips it.
4. Puts the site in maintenance mode.
5. De-activates all active plugins and remembers it.
6. Upgrades wordpress files.
7. Gives you a link that will open in a new window to upgrade installation.
8. Re-activates the plugins. NOTE: This part of the process did NOT work for me. I had to go in and reactivate all of my plugins.

The plugin can also can be run in a automated mode where in you do not have to click on any links to go to the next step. NOTE: I did NOT run the upgrade in the automated mode.

Once I finished the process, I double checked my plugins, my theme, and the changes I had made to make sure they were all still working.

There is a FAQ section you should read first. Once the blog was updated to the latest version I then explored the new look.

NOTE: There is a problem with the Dragon Site Map Generator with the newest version of WordPress in that if you limit the number of items per page, it will not advance to the rest of the map. I changed the items per page options to 0 (unlimited) and it now works. Not an ideal solution but it works for now.

Here is a list of Themes compatible with WordPress Version 2.5.

Here is a list of plugins that have been tested for compatibility with Version 2.5.

I’ve been working with Expression Web for about 6 months now and I’ve found that above all other things, what sets this program apart from the competition is it’s handling of CSS. More specifically how easy it is to not only write CSS from scratch but also to modify existing code for fantastic results. Case in point: The new look of this blog. If you’ve visited before you’ll notice that I recently upgraded it from the dull look of a standard WordPress blog to something altogether different. And what will (hopefully) surprise you is that once the design was conceived (which took some time) the actual coding only took a couple of hours! All this thanks to Expression Web and how it handles CSS code.

People often ask me how to make their WordPress blog look great. In the past I’ve always told them that it’s a lengthy process and you really need to know a lot of code to get to where you want to be. That’s just not the case any more. I am willing to go as far as saying that with some basic training and a rudimentary understanding of html, anyone can make significant and functional changes to their blog using Expression Web without ever knowing what CSS is and how it works (this technique will work on any blog or other website that uses CSS btw.)Rather than just blabbering on and on about how great this program is for designing and re-designing blogs (and no, I’m not on the Microsoft payroll even though I’d like to be – hint hint people!) I’m going to show you just how easy it is to make changes to your blog by tweaking the CSS code with Expression Web.

Interested in learning more? Visit the above link to read the complete post along with step-by-step instructions and screenshots. Now to go and try it out. Happy Blogging!

• Validate out-of-the-box or, at the least, have very few errors or warnings
• Have a fluid layout so that it would resize with no scrollbar at 800×600 resolution
• Was easy to customize the style sheet

Lorelle vonFossen has an article Choosing a WordPress Theme on her WordPress Blog that I can highly recommend. There are lots of free themes out there or you may choose to buy one of the premium themes or even have one custom designed for you.

I found most of the features I was looking for in the theme I choose, Misty Look by Sadish Bala. However the header image did not reflect what the subject of my blog was about so I went looking for a new header image. In searching, I found Free Web Page Headers where I found exactly what I was looking for. I changed the colors in the style sheet to reflect the colors of my new header and made a slight adjustment in the widths so that the page resized to 800×600 yet still looked good at higher resolutions. Make sure you check your chosen theme in more than one browser and at more than one resolution.

Download the latest version

Installation

Extract wp-db-backup.php, upload it into /wp-content/plugins/
and activate it under the Plugins menu.

How to Use

Step 1 – Click the Manage menu in your WordPress admin area.
Click the Backup sub-menu.

Step 2 – The plugin will look for other tables in the same database.
Select how you’d like the backup to be delivered:

• Save to server : this will create a file in /wp-content/backup-*/ for you
  to retreive later
• Download to your computer : this will send the backup file to your browser
  to be downloaded
• Email : this will email the backup file to the address you specify

Step 3 – Click “Backup!” and your database backup will be delivered to you.

The filename of the backup file will be of the form DB_prefix_date.sql

• DB = the name of your WordPress database, as defined in wp-config.php
• prefix = the table prefix for this WordPress blog, as defined in wp-config.php
• date = CCYYmmdd_B format: 20050711_039 the “B” is the internet “Swatch” time.
• See the PHP date() function for details.

When having the database backup emailed or sent to your browser for immediate download, the backup file will be deleted from the server when the transfer is finished. Only if you select delivery method “Save to server” will the backup file remain on your server.

This tutorial is included in the Launching a WordPress Blog EBook by Pat Geary and Tina Clarke. You may download the EBook FREE from Genealogy Web Creations or Any Expression Designs.

This plugin lets you display a custom signature at the bottom of your posts. Simply type the text you want in the options page and configure it to display on every post, or manually display it by adding the trigger text wherever you like. You can also add in author information using the included variables – login name, first name, last name, nickname, email address, website, and description/bio. It get this information from the author’s account settings. It currently supports up to three different signature templates.

Download and Install the Signature Plugin

I downloaded the signature plugin script from the Dragon Design website and uploaded it to the plugin folder.
ftp://your-domain-name.com/wp-content/plugins/
Make sure when you are uploading with your ftp program, you change the transfer File Type to ASCII. Once uploaded, you will need to activate the plugin before it will work.

Click thumbnail for larger image.

Useage

You can use HTML and CSS in your signatures so I created a graphic image using a font I liked. I added some text and a link to my main website Genealogy Web Creations and created a style to reduce the size of the font. The script can be customized and can automatically insert your signature or you can do it manually. I chose to manually insert my signature by inserting the code.

<!-- ddsig -->

Full instructions are available at Dragon Design for customizing the signature plugin.

This week I again took the step of upgrading the blogs to the latest version of WordPress 2.3. Having done this not that long ago, I was familiar with the steps but reviewed the EBook just in case.

Download and unzip the WordPress package from http://wordpress.org/download/. The WordPress package will be extracted into a folder called WordPress.

Backup Your Database & Files

Step 1 – Back up your database. All of your WordPress data, such as Users, Posts, Pages, Links, and Categories, are stored in your MySQL database. You can follow the detailed instruction for Backing Up Your Database or use the Database Backup Plugin.

Step 2 – Back up ALL of your files in your WordPress directory on your server and your .htaccess file. This process involves using an FTP program to download ALL your WordPress files from your host to your local computer. I used Filezilla and just dragged the folder from the server to my harddrive.

If you have made changes to any core WordPress files, or if you have customized Plugins or Themes, you will want to have a good backup of those files. It is extremely important to back up your files before beginning the upgrade. If for some reason you find it necessary to revert back to the ‘old’ version of WordPress you will need to upload these files.

Step 3 – Verify the backups. Verify that the backups you created are there and usable. This is the most important step in the upgrade process! The verification process involves making sure you can see the backup files on your local computer and that you can navigate into any sub-folders. If the files are in a zip file, make sure you can open the zip file. I save everything to a folder on my desktop with a name that is easily identifiable as my backup files.

Installing WordPress

Step 4 – Deactivate ALL your Plugins. In your Administration panel, under the Plugins choice, deactivate any Plugins. Because of the changes to WordPress, some Plugins may conflict with the upgrade process. NOTE: you should check for any new releases of the plugins you are using or the theme you are using. You might want to install these first.

NOTE: Before you proceed any further in the upgrade process, make sure you have completed the above steps.

Step 5 – Delete the old WordPress files with the exception of the following:

DO NOT DELETE these folders and files:

• wp-config.php file;
• wp-content folder;
• wp-../images folder;
• wp-includes/languages/ folder–if you are using a language file, do not delete this folder;Â
• .htaccess file–if you have added custom rules to your .htaccess, do not delete it;
• Custom Content and/or Plugins–if you have any ../images or other custom content or Plugins inside the wp-content folder, do NOT delete them. This would also include any custom ../images folder in your root directory.
• Don’t delete favicon.ico or robots.txt if they exist.

Delete these Files and Folders:

• wp-* (except for those above), readme.html, wp.php, xmlrpc.php, and license.txt; files; Typically files in your root or wordpress folder. Again, don’t delete the wp-config.php file.
• wp-admin folder;
• wp-includes folder; If using a language file remember don’t delete the wp-includes/languages/ folder
• wp-content/cache folder; You only see this folder if you are upgrading FROM WordPress 2.0.
• wp-content/plugins/widgets folder; You only see this folder if you previously installed the Sidebar Widgets plugin. The Sidebar Widgets code conflicts with the built-in widget ability.

How to Delete? To delete the files, sign on to the server with your ftp client. Some host providers also provide the ability to delete files and folders. 1and1 does not.

Step 6 – Upload the new files. Remember to change your File Type to ASCII.

Step 7 – Run the WordPress upgrade program.
Run the WordPress upgrade script by accessing wp-admin/upgrade.php in your favorite web browser and follow the instructions presented on your screen. If WordPress is installed in the root directory, point your browser to: http://example.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php If WordPress is installed in its own subdirectory called blog, for example, point your browser to: http://example.com/blog/wp-admin/upgrade.php

If everything went as it should the next screen you see will be your blog. Check to make sure everything is working.

Step 8 – Update Permalinks and .htaccess if necessary (Mine required no change)

Step 9 – Install updated Plugins and Themes.
Review the list of Plugins and Themes that work in Version 2.3. You will want to upload and install any new versions of your Plugins and Themes. Check with the author of those Plugins and Themes for the updated versions. NOTE: I have done this both ways, install updated themes and plugins first and afterwards. Both worked.

Step 10 – Reactivate Plugins.

That’s it. You are now ready to use your upgraded version. The new version number for WordPress will be indicated at the bottom of your Dashboard.

Related Post: WordPress Automatic Update Plugin

New, Just Released and available for FREE download NOW

Learn to install and setup your own WordPress Blog with this easy to follow tutorial.

This Launching a WordPress Blog EBook is focused on giving a guideline for installing WordPress on your own host with your own domain or a sub-domain. It is intended as a beginner’s ebook and covers the basics. There are some advanced techniques included as well. It is essential that you start with Getting started with a WP Blog and follow step by step each page. Tick off each step as you go so you know you are following along. Having been through this process we have found this is truly the best way forward.

This checklist can be printed from the book and will give you an idea of the topics Covered Include:

1. Getting started with a WordPress Blog
   1. Requirements for Installing WordPress – Before you get started make sure your host givesyou the tools you need. One host that we know of who does not is 1and1 UK Home packages. Did you read to the bottom of the page?
   2. Installing Database
   3. Download WordPress
   4. Configure wp-config-sample file – Did you read the instructions all of the way through? Did you rename the file?
   5. Configure a FTP Client – If you are already using an ftp client that works,
      it is not necessary to download FileZilla. Use the one you are comfortable with, but make sure if you’re using another ftp client to set it to ASCII.
   6. Installing WordPress
   7. Setting up WordPress – Did you read to the bottom of the page? Do not try and install a new theme yet. Work with the default one until you have finished setting up.
   8. Options Permalinks – If your url looks like http://your-domain.com/hello-world.php
      rather than http://your-domain.com/?p123
      you followed the instructions. Ready for the next step?
   9. Configure WordPress Categories – Did you follow all of the instructions to the bottom of the page? Don’t worry; you can add more categories later.
   10. Setting WordPress Preferences – Read it all!
   11. Installing WordPress Themes – Now you are finally here. Read it all to the very bottom. It will take you longer to decide on choosing a theme than anything else. Once you have installed the theme, take the time to check how it looks in the various browsers, does it have a horizontal scroll? Does it validate? Do you know enough to tweak it until it works like it is supposed to or would you be better off choosing another one?
   12. Creating SEO Titles in WordPress – Did you follow all of the steps? Did you
       read to the BOTTOM of the page? Does your page title look like it is supposed to?
   13. Disable NoFollow Attribute in WordPress – If you don’t read to the very bottom, you will miss the bit about writing posts. After all, that is what your blog isfor.
2. WordPress Essentials
   1. WordPress Plugins
      1. Akismet Plugin – If you don’t want to be plagued by spam, read and configure this plugin.
      2. Sitemap Plugin – Read all the way to the bottom or you will end up with the word category beside all of your categories.
      3. WordPress Database Backup – An easy way to backup your database.
      4. WordPress Ready Contact Form – Do you want your readers to be able to contact you? Then you need a form for them to use. Don’t skip this part.
      5. How Trackback and Pingback works in WordPress Learn how they work, how to use them and when to use them.
      6. Moving a WordPress Blog – More advanced but someday you may want to move from a sub-domain to a domain all its own.
      7. Upgrading WordPress Program – Read and implement carefully, WordPress regularly updates and improves the program, so be ready with the instructions at hand.
      8. WordPress API – You will need this for configuring your Akismet Spam Plugin.
      9. WordPress Tips
3. Desktop Blogging Clients – These are more advanced topics for you to explore, if you find you don’t like the WordPress interface to post your blogs, these desktop blogging clients are a safe alternative.
   1. Windows Live Writer
      1. Setting Up Windows Live Writer
   2. BlogDesk
      1. Installing BlogDesk
      2. BlogDesk Configuration
      3. Creating Posts in BlogDesk
      4. Inserting Images in Posts
      5. Publishing with BlogDesk
      6. BlogDesk Options
      7. BlogDesk Extras

Download your FREE Launching a WordPress Blog EBook NOW.

Right around the time you realize that people you don’t know are actually reading your blog, you probably are going to start checking your stats to see where in the world they’re coming from. Your web host gave you a package like awstats or webalizer to generate nice statistics and graphs for you, and you go through it looking for the search terms people used to find you and the sites which linked to you. You check one out, and suddenly you’re at an online casino, or a porn site.

You’ve been hit by referrer spam. Read the rest of Battling Referrer Spam