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WordPress Installation Tutorial - How to Install WordPress


SiteGround specializes in providing quality WordPress hosting. This is why, you can install the application more than one way on our servers. For example, if you want to quickly start a new blog, you can use our Softaculous auto-installer to setup a new WordPress instance with just few clicks.

On the other hand, if you want to perform more customized installation or migrate an existing site, you may chose to perform a manual installation. We have prepared three tutorials to help you start your site.

 

WordPress Installation Tutorial

 
 
 
 
 
 
  

WordPress Manual Installation

Get a FREE WordPress installation with our WordPress hosting package!

If you do not have the Fantastico auto installer on your account or just choose not to use it, you have the option to install WordPress manually. Please, follow the step-by-step guide below in order to activate Wordpress on your hosting account:

How to install Wordpress manually

Step 1: Download the installation file from the WordPress download section by clicking on "Download.zip" or "Download.tar.gz". This way you will get the latest stable release of the script.

Step 2: Upload it in public_html folder of your account. You can do that via FTP with a client like Filezilla or via cPanel -> File Manager -> Upload file(s). This way, after the installation is completed, the file script will appear once you visit your website.

Another option is to create a subfolder in your hosting account and upload the file in it. The WordPress installation will be accessible at:

http://www.yourdomainname.com/subfolder

Step 3: When you are in cPanel -> File Manager, navigate to the uploaded file and extract it by clicking on "Extract". The other option is to extract the file in your computer and then to upload the content in the desired folder via FTP.

Step 4: Once the files are extracted in the desired folder, you should create a MySQL database for WordPress. You can do that from cPanel -> MySQL Databases. Detailed instructions how to do so can be found in our MySQL tutorial.

Step 5: Rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and edit it. Fill in your database connection details in the following lines:

define('DB_NAME', ''); // The name of the database
define('DB_USER', ''); // Your MySQL username
define('DB_PASSWORD', ''); // ...and password

You can also change the default database prefix in order to secure your WordPress installation. 

Step 6: Open in your browser:

www.yourdomainname.com/where_wordpress_is_extracted/wp-admin/install.php

This should set up the tables needed for your blog. If there is an error, double check your wp-config.php file, and try again.

Step 7: The installation procedure is finished. You can save the administrative username and the password. You will need them to access the WordPress installation admin backend in the future.


WordPress Softaculous Installation Tutorial

This tutorial is designed to show you how to use Softaculous to install a WordPress application to your site. It will take only few minutes and literally no advanced skills to have a fully functional WordPress instance in your hosting account.

First, login to your cPanel account and find the Softaculous icon under the "Software Services" section. It should be located in the lower part of your cPanel page, right under the "Domains" section.


Once you click on the Softaculous button, you will be redirected to the page where you have to chose the application you want to install. On the left side of your screen locate the "Blogs" category, click on it and then click on the "WordPress" link that will appear.



On the next page, press the Install button at the top of your screen to specify that you want to perform a brand new WordPress installation.


Finally, enter the required fields for your site - title, description, administrative username and password, administrative e-mail etc. and click on the "Install" button. Please note that by default Softaculous will install the application in a "wp" sub-folder. That being said, if you would like to be able to access the website only via your domain name you should delete the wp string from the "Directory" field. If you want to install the application in another sub-folder you should simply type it in the field.



That's it! Your WordPress application is installed and ready to use. You can now login and start blogging!

WordPress Fantastico Installation

Get a FREE WordPress installation with our WordPress hosting package!

SiteGround no longer provides Fantastico autoinstaller on it servers. The new installer now available is Softaculous. In extensive tests it proved to match our outstanding service quality standards better, by providing more applications, faster version updates and better support. You can read more about why SiteGround now uses Softaculous in our blog.

For more information on how to install WordPress with just few clicks, please check our tutorial on How to Install WordPress with Softaculous.

If your host does not support Fantastico, please check our Wordpress Manual Installation tutorial.

Check out the WordPress installation video tutorial:
WordPress Installation Video Tutorial WordPress Installation Video Tutorial

How to install WordPress

Please, follow the step-by-step guide below in order to activate Wordpress on your hosting account:

Step 1: Please, login to your CPanel and locate the Fantastico De Luxe icon:

Wordpress - CPanel - Fantastico

Step 2: Find and click the WordPress link.

Wordpress installation

Step 3: Then choose New Installation:

Wordpress - New Installation

Step 4: Decide upon the location of your blog - if you would like to have it as your site front page, leave the directory box blank, otherwise fill in the appropriate folder name. Next, fill in the administrator details and the e-mail account configuration then click the Install WordPress button.

Wordpress installation folder

Step 5: A new confirmation page will be loaded for the installation. Click the Finish Installation button if no errors are reported.

Wordpress - Finish Installation

If else you will have to go back and rectify the specified issues.

Step 6: After completing the installation the final screen will load, providing you with the installation details. You will be able to e-mail the details to a specified address also in order to keep them for future reference.

Wordpress - installation successful

Well done! You have successfully installed the Wordpress application!


How to Transfer WordPress


This tutorial will teach you how to transfer a WordPress-based website in a manner that best fits your needs. Whether you are moving from Wordpress.com or  from a stand-alone application, there instruction will help you.

Check out our tutorial pages and select the one that best fits your case. Note that if you are transferring your WordPress site to SiteGround, we provide a free professional site transfer as part of our WordPress hosting package.

 

Transfer WordPress Tutorial

 
 
 
 
 
 
  

How to Completely Transfer a WordPress Site

Transferring a WordPress application from one hosting provider to another is an easy task if performed properly. Basically the transfer of a WordPress site from one host to another consists of three parts - moving the files, moving the database and reconfiguration (if needed).

To move your files from one host to another you can use your favorite FTP client. For more information on how to use FTP, please check our FTP Tutorial. It will teach you how to move the files of your application first to your local computer and then to upload them on the new account.

The second step is to move your database. First you need to export your database from the old hosting account. If it uses cPanel you can safely follow these instructions. If not, contact the support team of your previous hosting company in order to receive more information on how to export your database.

After you have your data exported, create a new database on your new hosting account and import your content in it.

Now, you have your files and database transferred. All you have to do is to reconfigure your WordPress application to work from the new place. To do this, open the wp-config.php file in your WordPress root folder and locate the following lines:

define('DB_NAME', 'user_wrdp1');

/** MySQL database username */
define('DB_USER', 'user_wrdp1');

/** MySQL database password */
define('DB_PASSWORD', 'password');

You need to replace those values with your actual database, database username and password for it. Now save this file and your WordPress site should be up and running from your new hosting account!

Note that if you change the domain name of your site additional reconfiguration is required. For more information on that matter check our tutorial on how to change a WordPress site URL.

How to Transfer Your WordPress Content

Sometimes you may want to transfer only the content from your WordPress blog from one application to another (switching hosts for example). In such cases, WordPress provides you with an easy mechanism to move your posts, comments, attachments and other information with just few clicks.

To do this, first login as administrator in your existing blog backend and select Tools -> Export from the left menu.



On this page chose whether you want your Posts, Pages and other available content transferred or you want all the content to be exported. For the purpose of this tutorial, we've chosen to move all the content. Then press the "Download Export File" button and save the .xml file to your computer.

Now, login to your new WordPress installation and chose Tools -> Import from the left menu. On this page select "WordPress" in order to import content from your previous WordPress installation.



On the next page you have to select whether you want the new content to be posted with an existing author or under a new username. Make sure you check the "Download and import file attachments" checkbox. This will allow WordPress to move correctly your posts including all the photos and other media you've inserted into them.



Finally, press the Submit button and your content will be imported into your new WordPress application. That's it! Your posts and media are now successfully migrated!

How to Transfer Your Site from WordPress.com

It is now possible to transfer your blog from WordPress.com to a stand-alone WordPress installation on your hosting account with just few clicks. To move your site, first login to your WordPress blog.

Then go to the Tools menu and select Export. On the page that loads chose to export All content and click on the Download Export File button. Then download the .xml file on your computer.


This is all you need to do on your WordPress.com account. Now you need to import your information to your stand-alone WordPress installation. If you have one installed, login with your admin username and password. If you want to install a fresh WordPress application, check out our WordPress installation tutorial for more information on how to do this.

Once you login, select the Tools menu from the left column and chose Import.



This page will show you the available sources you can import content from. Scroll down and select WordPress as an import type.



A popup will open asking you to install the WordPress Importer plugin. Click on the orange Install Now link to proceed.



Once the plugin files are downloaded, select the Activate Plugin & Run Importer link.



You will be redirected to the actual plugin page. Now click the Browse button, select the .xml file you have previously saved on your computer and click on the Upload file and import button.

If the content which you want to migrate is quite large the corresponding web server's timeout value can be reached before the data is fully copied. In this case you need to reupload the .xml file. The system keeps a record for the migrated content and will proceed with the remaining data. Repeat the procedure until you receive a confirmation that the process is successfully completed.



Since you will be inserting new posts and pages WordPress needs to know who will be their author. On this page you can either select an existing user as posts author, or you can create a new one for the imported data. Note that you should check the Download and Import file attachments checkbox if you want your photos and other attachment to be transferred too. Finally, click on the Submit button.



That's it! Your data is now transferred from your WordPress.com account to your stand-alone WordPress application.


Getting Started with WordPress

How to use WordPress?

How to start a WordPress blog?

All you need to do is sign up for a hosting account, and have the Wordpress application installed. Here at SiteGround we offer FREE Wordpress installation! With our Wordpress hosting package you can start creating your site right away! If you already have a hosting account and would like to change your host, we offer free website transfer of WordPress sites.

Sign Up for WordPress Hosting

Where to log in?

Once you have your Wordpress blog installed, you need to log in to the WordPress administration area from where you can write posts and articles, manage comments, change your theme, etc. To log in the WP admin panel, navigate to the WP login page or directly type the URL in your browser:

http://www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin/

Writing a post in WordPress

Writing posts and pages is the core activity in WP. You can start your editorial experience by clicking the Add New button located in the Posts menu:


 

You can proceed with entering the desired content. Once you are ready, the new post can be published just by clicking the Publish button.

Creating pages in WordPress

Creating individual pages in WordPress is quite similar to writing a post. You should simply click Add New in the Pages menu.

write page

When you are ready with your new page, click Publish to save it. 


WordPress Main Functions

The main functions of the WordPress tool are accessible from the upper part of the Admin page. They will help you to create and manage your blog website.

  • Dashboard
    Here you can see the latest news from the WordPress developer's site.
  • Write
    This is the place where you can share your thoughts and ideas with the world by writing posts and pages or editing the existing ones.
  • Manage
    This is actually where you can manage the content of your site. You can see lists of all your Posts, Pages, Categories and Comments, read and edit them. Here you can also edit your Templates and other files used in your blog.
  • Links
    Here you can add links to your favorite web sites. They can be organized by category, have internal references about your relationship to their destinations, be automatically associated with images, and can even be rated on a scale from zero to nine.
  • Presentation
    From that part of Administrator's area you can manage the way your content will be shown to the visitors of your blog. Here you can change the themes and add new from the developer's site.
  • Plugins
    This is the place, where you can manage the existing plugins and add new ones from the developer's site. Every plugin comes with the description about its functionality and instruction how to enable it.
  • Users
    Here you can manage your user's profiles or add new users to your blog. This way they also will be able to add content to your blog.
  • Options
    This is the place where you can manage all the configuration settings for your blog. This section includes general, writing, reading, discussion, miscellaneous options and customization of permalink structure.
  • Import
    Here you can import posts or comments from another system into your current blog.

WordPress Categories

In order to have your blog in a decent structure and ease your visitors' navigation throughout your posts and pages, you should categorize your posts.

Create a new category in WP

A new category can be created from the Posts menu > Categories.

Change the category of a post

In order to move a post from one category to another, you should click on Edit in the Posts menu, hover over the post you wish to edit and click Quick Edit.

From the Categories section select the new category (in our case the Test category) and click Update Post to save the change.

Delete a category

Important Note that deleting a category does not delete posts from that category. It will just set them back to the default category Uncategorized.


WordPress Comments

How to Manage Comments in Wordpress

In WordPress your visitors have the option to leave comments on your site. This feature creates a dynamic interchange between you and your readers.

Moderate comments

You can moderate your visitors' comments via the Comments menu in the WordPress administrator backend.

Comment options

You have a number of options that you can set for your Comments. They are listed under Settings > Discussion.

This is the place where the site administrator decides:

  • if comments are allowed,
  • if pingbacks and trackbacks are acceptable,
  • and what constitutes Comment Spam.

Wordpress Themes

Find FREE WordPress themes here

In the default WordPress installation, there are a couple of themes you can choose from. You can find the themes in your WordPress administration area > Appearance > Themes.

You can change the theme simply by clicking on the desired theme and then Activate <theme name>.

How to install a WordPress Theme?

If you would like to use a different WordPress theme for your blog web site, first of all you will have to download it to your local machine. You can visit our Wordpress themes gallery and download free themes from there:

Wordpress Themes - download

Once you have the new Wordpress theme on your local hard drive, you have to upload it under the 'wp-content/themes' directory of your website. You have two options to do that:

  • You can upload the .zip file of the theme in the 'wp-content/themes' directory via the File Manager and extract it online, or
  • Extract the file in your computer and then to upload the content in the desired folder via FTP.

Now, that you have the new theme uploaded on your site in the right folder, you can see it in your WP admin panel and select it as a default theme for your site.


WordPress Security & Administration Tutorial


In this category you will find tutorials regarding the security and proper administration of a WordPress site. Find out more information on how to make your blog safe and secure.

 

WordPress Security & Administration Tutorial

 
 
 
 
 
 
  

WordPress Backup

How to backup WordPress

WordPress is composed of files and a database. In order to backup your WordPress blog, you need to backup both your files and the database. 

ImportantIt is always advisable to perform regular backups in order to avoid any data loss.

How to backup the WordPress files?

In order to backup your files we recommend you using FTP. Copy the files to your local hard drive. After that you can easily upload back the files and your site will be restored. If you're not sure which folders should be copied please copy the whole 'public_html' folder or the WordPress directory. Click here to learn how to use FTP.

WordPress database backup

Detailed inscrutions on how to create backup of your database can be found in our How to backup/restore MySQL database tutorial.

Well done! You have successfully created a backup of your WordPress system!


WordPress Update

How to update Wordpress: Automatic update

In WordPress 2.7.x you can easily update your application directly from the admin area. When a new version is available, you will see a notification in the WP admin area.

Before you proceed with the upgrade, we strongly advise you to make a backup of your WordPress.

When you are ready, click Please update now to proceed with the upgrade.

On the next page you can choose whether to upgrade automatically or manually.

Click Upgrade Automatically :)

If everything goes smoothly, your WordPress will be successfully upgraded.

 

How to Upgrade Wordpress: Manual upgrade

Step 1: Backup the Database Tables and Files including .htaccess. You can refer to the WordPress backup tutorial for further instructions on how to complete this step.

Step 2: Deactivate Plugins

Deactivate all the Plugins you use from the plugin management page.

Some plugins might not work with the new WordPress version and in order to avoid discrepancies it would be best to deactivate all plugins. This will ensure that you won't end up with an upgraded but broken installation of WordPress after the upgrade process.

Step 3: Overwrite Files

  • Overwrite option 1: Get the latest WordPress version from Wordpress download page and upload it to the WordPress directory, overwriting all the files that exist there. This will preserve your images and themes.
  • Overwrite option 2: Deleting your old files on the server and uploading the newer files from the new version you've downloaded is an alternative which will ensure that the files on the server have been replaced for sure.

If you are not sure how to do this, we recommend you to refer to our FTP tutorial where you will find step by step instructions how to upload files.

Which option is better?

Generally, it is a good idea to delete whatever is possible because the uploading (or upgrading through cPanel) process may not correctly overwrite an existing file and that may cause problems later.

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;
.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.

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.

Step 4: Run the upgrade script

Visit your blog's Upgrade Page (http://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin/upgrade.php) and follow the instructions that are displayed.

Step 5: Reactivate Plugins one by one

Activate your plug-ins, one by one, at the Plugin Management Page. Check if everything works as expected.

If any plugin does not work, deactivate it and then you might contact the plugin author to encourage the author to upgrade the plugin.


WordPress Spam Protection

How to protect WordPress from Spam?

In this tutorial we will show you how to protect your WordPress blog from spam. 

There are several solutions which can be completed:

  • 1. Make sure that your WordPress script is updated to the latest stable version. Detailed instructions regarding the WordPress update can be found on the corresponding tutorial page.

  • 2. Install a captcha plugin. A good choice is the WordPress ReCaptcha plugin. Comprehensive instruction on how to install a WordPress plugin can be found here. Once activated, the plugin will prompt for the public and the private API keys. The visualized link will take you to the corresponding Google web site where you can get the API keys for free. Paste them in the corresponding fields and activate your ReCaptcha plugin for comments and users registrations.

  • 3. WordPress comes with a preinstalled antispam solution - Akismet.  

    In order to use Akismet, you should have a WordPress API key. To receive a WordPress API key, you should register at the official WordPress website. The key will be included in your welcome mail. 

    If you already have a registration at WordPress.org, you can see your API key by visiting the WP dashboard. 

    To enable Akismet for your blog, follow the steps below: 

    Step 1. Go to your WordPress admin area > Plugins > Installed.

    Step 2. Click Activate.

     

    Activating Akismet

     

    The Akismet plugin will be activated.

     

    Akismet Activated

     

    Step 3. Click "enter your WordPress.com API key" (you can also click Akismet Configuration in the Plugins section)

     

    Enter the API Key

     

    Step 4. Enter your WordPress API key.

    Step 5. Click Update options>>.

    Step 6. If you have entered a correct API key, it will be verified.

     

    WordPress API Key Verified

     

    From now on your blog will be protected from spam by Akismet. You will be able to check the comments in your blog for spam, as well as manually mark comments as spam from the blog admin area > Comments.

     

    Checking for spam

    You can also display on your blog's front page how many spam posts have been stopped by Akismet. To show this information, you should add the Akismet widget to your sidebar. More information how to do this can be found in our article on how to add a widget to the WordPress sidebar.

  • 4. Additionally, you can prevent the comments posted by visitors that come from suspicious and malicious IPs. This can be done using the WordPress Project Honey Pot plugin.


How to Remove Spam Links From Wordpress Comments

By default all links posted in the comments under your articles are turned by WordpPress into links. Unfortunately, this features encourages spammers to post many unwanted comments in your blog.

To disable turning URLs from comments into actual links, go to your admin area and then navigate to Appearance -> Editor. Select the functions.php file from the right column and add the following line just above the closing php tag ( ?> ):

remove_filter('comment_text', 'make_clickable', 9);

That's it! URLs pasted in your comments will not be turned into actual links anymore.

WordPress Security

How to secure your WordPress blog?

Below we have listed the most common security breaches in Wordpress, from which you can fend your site. Additionally, you can check our articles on:

Pre-Installation Measures

If you have not installed your WordPress yet, it is a good idea to change the default database prefix before making the installation.

You can easily do this by modifying the following line in the wp-config-sample.php file; 

$table_prefix  = 'wp_'; 

Change it to something more complex, for example: 

$table_prefix  = '1w27p_'; 

Once you make this change, rename wp-config-sample.php to wp-config.php and proceed with the WordPress installation. 

  • This can be done also by using the WordPress installation web interface. You should simply enter the desired database prefix in the Table Prefix field of the web installer interface. 

 Post-Installation Measures

If you have already installed your WordPress blog, here are some steps through which you can improve the security of an existing WordPress installation:  

  • If you have manually installed your WordPress, the default administrator username will be admin.  You should change this to something harder to guess. To do this, log in to your WordPress admin area, go to Users and create a new user with Administrator role.  Once the account is created, log out from your admin area, log in with the new account you created and delete the old one. 
  • Restrict access to the wp-admin folder only for your IP.  You can easily do this by placing a .htaccess file in the wp-admin folder containing the following lines: 

Deny from all

Allow from <Your IP> 

You can see what is your IP at this URL. 

  • Restrict the access to most files in the wp-includes and wp-content folders. The access to everything except images, CSS and JavaScript files can be blocked. To do this, create a .htaccess file and place the following rules in it: 

Order Allow,Deny
Deny from all
<Files ~ ".(css|jpe?g|png|gif|js)$">
Allow from all
</Files> 

 


WordPress Plugins Tutorial


In this category you will find information regarding different WordPress plugins, how to install and use them. Find out more on how to extend your basic WordPress functionality by adding different Plugins!

 

WordPress Plugins Tutorial

 
 
 
 
 
 
  

How to Install WordPress Plugins Tutorial

How to install a Wordpress Plugin?

Plugins are tools which provide additional functionality to your application. To install a plugin you generally just need to put the plugin file into your 'wp-content/plugins' directory. Once a plugin is installed, you may activate it or deactivate it from the Plugins menu in your WP administration.

Generally the Plugin installation is a straight-forward process. In most cases it is enough to upload the plugin under the 'wp-content/plugins' directory for the WordPress installation and activate it from the administrator backend.

In WordPress 2.7 and above you can install plugins directly from the admin area. Downlod the plugin to your computer, then log in to your WP admin area and go to Plugins > Add New. Browse to the plugin archive and select it. Then click Install Now and the plugin will be installed shortly.



The removal is also straight-forward in most cases. Simply remove the directory for the plugin you would like to uninstall and it will be automatically deactivated.

Still always bear in mind that not all plugins are easy to install, so always refer to their documentation and installation instructions first.

You can check our detailed articles on the following WP plugins:


WordPress Shopping Cart

How to use Simple PayPal Shopping Cart Cart with WordPress

There are various contributions you can use in order to setup an online store for your existing WordPress website. One of the widely preferred plugin is Simple Paypal Shopping Cart.

In this tutorial we will explain how to install Simple Paypal Shopping Cart in WordPress, and will cover the basics of creating a product and publishing a shopping cart on your blog.

How to install Simple PayPal Shopping Cart

There are two standard options for installing a WordPress Plugin. You can either use the Search or Upload functionality.

For this tutorial we will demonstrate how to perform the installation by searching for the desired plugin.

First log into the administrator area of your WordPress installation. Then go to Plugins -> Add New.

In the search field choose Term from the drop-down menu, then enter “Simple Paypal Shopping Cart” in the text box and click the “Search Plugins” button.

 

The “WordPress Simple Paypal Shopping Cart” should appear as first result. Click the Install link for it.

 

In the new window that will pop-up click the “Install Now” button.

 

The plugin will be automatically downloaded and installed for your WordPress. Once the installation is completed, click the Activate Plugin link.

How to setup Simple PayPal Shopping Cart with WordPress

The WordPress Shopping Cart is now installed and you can alter the settings for it and adjust the options according to your needs. Go to Settings -> WP Shopping Cart and modify the various options.

 

Bear in mind that it is imperative to enter your Paypal email address in order to be able to receive funds for products you will create on your website.

At the top of the Settings page for the WordPress Shopping Cart you will see instructions how to create Add to cart buttons on your pages and how to display the shopping cart and the products in it.

In order to create a new post with a product for your WordPress Shopping Cart go to Posts -> Add New.

Here is an example data you can enter in a new page in order to create a sample product.

Enter the desired text and images if you like, and the WordPress shopping cart product code. Note that you need to change the “Product” and the number in the wp_cart tag to reflect the desired product name and price.

For the shopping cart itself we will use the widget for the plugin. Go to Appearance -> Widgets.

Drag and drop the WP Paypal Shopping Cart widget to the Sidebar.

You can adjust its position. When you are happy with the placement between the other available widgets click Save.

Now you can visit your website main page and check out how it looks. The new post text you have entered will be displayed along with the “Add to Cart” button.

When you click Add to Cart the shopping cart will be updated and you will see the product and its price.

You can adjust the desired quantity or remove the product via the red circle with a cross button at any time.


WordPress Images

How to insert images, audio or video in WordPress

WordPress makes it really easy to add media to your posts. To add media to a new post, go to your blog's admin area > Posts > Add New.

In the WYSIWYG editor menu you can click any of the following buttons to add media to your post - "Add an image", "Add Video", "Add Audio" and "Add Media". Check our Knowledge base article to learn more and see a video about how to add media to your WP posts.

If, however, you need some extra gallery functionality, you may have to use a gallery plugin.

Gallery Plugin in Wordpress

In this tutorial we will show you how to install and use the NextGEN gallery plugin.

You can download it from this link.

More information on how to install plugins in WordPress can be found here - WordPress plugins installation.

Once the NextGEN plugin is installed, you can see its admin section included in WP:

This plugin has very intuitive interface and you will get the hang of it in no time.

To add the NextGEN Gallery to your WordPress frontpage, you should add its widget to the WP sidebar. This can be done from the WP admin area > Appearance > Widgets. Click the Add button next to NextGEN Widget and then click the Save Changes button located on the right.

This will publish the widget and your gallery will be visible from your frontpage.


WordPress Classifieds Plugins

In this section of the tutorial we will briefly describe several WordPress Classifieds Plugins.

Popular WordPress Classifieds Plugins

  • WP Classified - The general use of this plugin is adding classifieds page to your blog. Thus enabling site visitors to create their own classified ads and also giving the option to navigate through the list of classified ad caretegories. The functionality is basic and very easy to use. Note that this plugin will greatly help you adding classifieds section as a feature for your website. It is not designed to make classified ads the primary resource of your WordPress based website. You can check WP Classified website for more information.
  • Another WordPress Classifieds Plugin (AWPCP) - This plugin is very similar to WP Classified described above. However, this plugin includes much more options, it is highly configurable and customizable according to the needs of your website. The full list of features can be found on the plugin page at the official WordPress website plugins section. You can check AWPCP website for more information.
  • Your Classified Ads - The Your Classified Ads plugin is still in Alpha at the time of the release of this tutorial article. Still, it is one of the best classified ads plugins for WordPress. The plugin is designed for the new WordPress version 3 and uses the new Custom Post Types feature available in WordPress 3. Also it includes widgets such as ads search form, terms cloud (eg. ads tag cloud), single ad details (post author, other ads by this author etc). You can check Your Classified Ads website for more information.

WordPress Classifieds Installation and Usage

All WordPress plugins are installed similarly. The classifieds plugins mentioned above do not differ. Detailed instructions how to have a plugin installed for WordPress you can find here. For more information how to have the specific plugins installed and how to use them check the corresponding plugin tutorial page:


BuddyPress WordPress Plugin

BuddyPress Features

The BuddyPress plugin provides a large variety of features for your WordPress website. It is free, open source and completely customizable. The main function of BuddyPress is to greatly enhance the capability of WordPress in building a community website. It will give your website members the ability to create groups and invite their friends, check activity feeds, create discussion boards and much more. Full list of features can be found on BuddyPress official website.

If you want to start your own community website, please take a look at our special BuddyPress hosting pack.

BuddyPress Installation

The Buddy Press plugin initial installation does not differ in any way from a standard WordPress plugin installation. Once you have installed it and enabled for your WordPress website there are a few further changes that should be made. The following notification will be displayed under your WordPress administrator area.

 

BuddyPress Initial Setup

It is advisable to choose a BuddyPress compatible theme and use it for your website. This will ensure you will not encounter theme related issues at some point. Clicking the “install some other compatible themes” link will load a list of the currently available BuddyPress compatible themes.

Once you are done adjusting the template it is time to setup the specific settings for your BuddyPress installation. You will see a new tab for BuddyPress just below the Dashboard under your WordPress administrator area.

 

BuddyPress General Settings

Click BuddyPress and you will see several sub-categories.

The General Settings page will allow you to alter the basics for your installation. You will find that all options are enabled by default and if you specifically do not want to use certain functionality you should disable it. For example you might choose to hide the admin bar for logged out users. This means unless a user is logged in to WordPress he will not see the top bar.

Note that by default, all BuddyPress components are enabled. You can selectively disable any or all of the components. In this case the BuddyPress installation will still function, however the features of the disabled components will no longer be accessible. Those can be altered under the Component Setup page for BuddyPress.

Via Forum Setup you can setup the forum for your website via a single click. Forums in BuddyPress use bbPress in order to function. You have two options at this point. If you do not have an existing bbPress installation you can perform a new one. Alternatively if you already have a bbPress forum installed for your WordPress website you can use it. All you need to do is click the corresponding button.

The installation is fully automated. The only action required on your side is entering the path to the existing bbPress installation in case you choose the second option.

Finally the Profile Setup field provides the needed functionality to create custom profile fields for your website community members. Those will greatly vary depending on the actual theme of your social network and can be made either required or optional. Also all fields in the first group will be present on the signup page. Fields that are present in other groups you create will be available for the community members to alter once they have created an account.


Recent Comments WordPress Plugin

Recent Comments Features:

  • Highly configurable via WordPress admin interface;
  • Support for WordPress 1.5 or higher;
  • Adjustable layout by macros;
  • Handles trackbacks and comments in separate lists, in one combined list;
  • Widget support;
  • Caches the output;
  • Order comments by date, or by posting;
  • Support for gravatars;
  • Option to exclude comments to posts in certain categories;
  • Doesn't show pingbacks originating from own blog;
  • There is a special version for lyceum multiblog installations, which could be found here .

How to install Recent Comments

Step 1:

First of all you will need to download the get-recent-comments-1.5.1.zip file from here.

Step 2:

As soon as you have the file you should unzip it in your local computer. Then, you should upload the get-recent-comments.php file under your:

/public_html/path_to_your_blog/wp-content/plugins directory.

If you are not sure how to do this, we kindly recommend you to refer to our FTP tutorial where you will find step by step instructions how to do this.

Step 3:

When the plugin is uploaded under your plugins directory you should access the administrative area of your WordPress at: http://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin.php

Being there you should get to the Plugins section from the top menu.

recent comments

Click on the Activate button on the left. This will activate the plugin that you have already uploaded.

Step 4:

Drag the widgets "Get Recent Comments" and "Get Recent Trackbacks" into the sidebar.

If your theme does not yet support widgets, insert to following code into the sidebar template:

<?php if (function_exists('get_recent_comments')) { ?>
<li><h2><?php _e('Recent Comments:'); ?></h2>
<ul><?php get_recent_comments(); ?></ul>
</li>
<?php } ?>

<?php if (function_exists('get_recent_trackbacks')) { ?>
<li><h2><?php _e('Recent Trackbacks:'); ?></h2>
<ul><?php get_recent_trackbacks(); ?></ul>
</li>
<?php } ?>

We strongly recommend you to revise the Instructions section under the Recent Comments plugin menu.


WordPress Classifieds Plugins

WP Classified Plugins for Wordpress

This part of the tutorial describes how to use the WP Classified plugin for your WordPress installation. You can find more about Wordpress Classifieds plugins here.

First you will need to have the pugin installed. Download it from the official WordPress plugins directory -> WP Classified. Then have it installed for your WordPress application You can do so via the WordPress admin area -> Plugins -> Add New -> Upload.

Browse for the downloaded plugin archive and then click the Install Now button.

Once the plugin is installed it can be activated via the Plugins section under the WordPress admin area.

After you have activated the plugin a new wpClassified section will be available on the left side panel under the WordPress admin area.

When you open the wpClassified settings for the first time you will be asked to install the plugin. By clicking the provided link you will add the needed tables in your WordPress database.

You can now proceed with adjusting the configuration for your newly installed wpClassified. Once the settings are adjusted according to your needs you can start creating new categories and lists for the classified ads users will be posting on your website.

After at least one category with list under it is created ads can be added under it. Here is how it will appear on the website front end.

Adding a new classified is an easy task. Click on the desired list in the category where you would like the ad published then click the "Add new Ad in this category" link.

Enter the required information and click Save Ad. That is all.


WordPress Classifieds Plugins

Another WordPress Classifieds Plugin (AWPCP)

This part of the tutorial describes how to use the Another WordPress Classifieds Plugin for your WordPress installation. You can find more about Wordpress Classifieds plugins here.

First you will need to have the pugin installed. Download it from the official WordPress plugins directory -> AWPCP. Then have it installed for your WordPress application You can do so via the WordPress admin area -> Plugins -> Add New -> Upload.

Browse for the downloaded plugin archive and then click the Install Now button.

Once the plugin is installed you can immediately activated using the provided link

or do so later via the Plugins section in the WordPress administration area.

When you have activated the plugin a new Classifieds section will be available on the left under your WordPress admin area.

If you are accessing AWPCP for the first time you will be asked to adjust the settings for it according to your needs.

As soon as you have adjusted the settings and saved them the plugin will be active and a default general category for ads is available. Users can now start posting adds on your web site.

Use the Place Ad button then enter all the required information for a new ad. When ready click Continue. This will load the second step where you can upload images to your ads.

When ready click Finish. That is all. You now have AWPCP active and working for your WordPress installation and a new ad posted on your website.


WordPress Spelling Checker Plugin

What is WordPress Spelling Checker?

The Spelling Checker plugin for WordPress provides a built-in facility for spelling checks on posts from within the administration pages as well as spelling checks on comments via simple calls added to your templates. It requires no changes to the WordPress code, you merely drop it into the plugins folder and enable it in the interface.

How to install WordPress Spelling Checker:

First of all you will need to download plugin. The spell-plugin.zip file can be downloaded from here. As soon as you have the file you should extract (unzip) it on your local computer.

To install a plugin you generally just need to upload the plugin file into your wp-content/plugins directory. Once a plugin is uploaded, you may activate it from your WordPress admin area.

Spelling Checker Plugin upload process:

  • Copy the "spell-plugin.php" file into your "wp-content/plugins" directory. If you are not sure how to do this, we kindly recommend you to refer to our FTP tutorial where you will find step by step instructions how to upload a file from your local drive to your web hosting account.
  • Create a new directory in your "wp-content" directory called "spell-plugin". Make sure that the permissions of this directory are 755. To find out how to do this, please, take a look at the FTP -> Change permissions tutorial.
  • Copy the remaining files (except for the "spell-plugin.php" file, which we have already set in the "wp-content/plugins" directory) into this new "spell-plugin" directory.

Spelling Checker Plugin activation:

  • When the plugin is uploaded under your plugins directory you should access your administrative area of your WordPress at: http://yourdomainname.com/wp-admin.php. Being there please, click on the Plugins section from the top menu.

    • spelling checker

  • Click on the "Activate" button on the left. This will activate the plugin that you have already uploaded.

Important Once activated, you MUST VISIT the plugin options page at least once to enable the functionality. The plugin will NOT function and no "Check Spelling" button will appear, before that. Simply visit this page:

http://yourdomainname.com/wp-content/plugins/spell-plugin.php?speller_setup

How to use WordPress Spelling Checker?

On the "Write Post" page there should be a new button called "Check Spelling". Click it. You will get a new window that performs the spelling check. Note that you must have Javascript enabled for this to work. You must also have the "aspell" executable on your hosting machine (SiteGround.com servers have this installed) since it is required by the spell checking functionality.

Well done! You have successfully installed the Spelling checker plugin for WP! You can find more Wordpress plugins here.


WordPress Classifieds Plugins

Your Classified Ads Plugin for WordPress

This part of the tutorial describes how to use the Your Classifieds Ads for your WordPress installation. You can find more about Wordpress Classifieds plugins here.

Bear in mind that in order for the front end ads posting and the guest users ads posting to work you will need to have the One Quick Post plugin installed and enabled for your WordPress website.

Then you will need to have the Your Classifieds Ads pugin installed. Download it from the official WordPress plugins directory -> Your Classified Ads. And install it via WordPress admin area -> Plugins -> Add New -> Upload.

Browse for the downloaded plugin archive and then click the Install Now button.

Once the plugin is installed you can immediately activate it using the provided link

or do so later via the Plugins section in the WordPress administration area.

As soon as the plugin is activated a new Classified Ads section will be created in the WordPress administrator backend.

You can now proceed adding new classifieds for your website via the Add New functionality.


WordPress Tutorial

If you plan to start your own blog website, the best choice for a blog application would be WordPress. Wordpress is an Open Source blog tool which offers a rich set of features as well as a large supporting community.

WordPress has an intuitive administration interface which anyone can handle. In WordPress you will be able to compose a post and publish it on your website with just a few clicks! With WordPress you can easily customize the look of your website for there are lots of free WordPress themes available on the Net.

 

How to use WordPress to create a blog site:

Additional resources:

 

How do I start?

If you don't have a WordPress site yet, or would like to find a faster and more experienced Wordpress host, please visit our Wordpress hosting package where you get the best services for a blog site. At SiteGround you get free Wordpress installation, better security for your blog, free Wordpress themes and experienced technical assistance. For existing blogs we offer free website files and database transfer to our servers.

Sign Up for WordPress Hosting

We have also prepared the following video tutorials for Wordpress 2.6.x:

Change header Edit your profile Manage pages Write a comment
Change password Install WordPress Manage plugins Write a post
Configure options Manage categories Manage users  

 



Start up guide for blogs old

How to use WordPress?

How to start a WordPress blog?

All you need to do is sign up for a hosting account, and have the Wordpress application installed. Here at SiteGround we offer FREE Wordpress installation! With our Wordpress hosting package you can start creating your site right away! If you already have a hosting account and would like to change your host, we offer free website transfer of WordPress sites.

Sign Up for WordPress Hosting

Where to log in?

Once you have your Wordpress blog installed, you need to log in to the WordPress administration area from where you can write posts and articles, manage comments, change your theme, etc. To log in the WP admin panel, navigate to the WP login page or directly type the URL in your browser:

http://www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin/

Writing a post in WordPress

Writing posts and pages is the core activity in WP. You can start your editorial experience by clicking the Add New button located in the Posts menu:


 

You can proceed with entering the desired content. Once you are ready, the new post can be published just by clicking the Publish button.

Creating pages in WordPress

Creating individual pages in WordPress is quite similar to writing a post. You should simply click Add New in the Pages menu.

write page

When you are ready with your new page, click Publish to save it. 



Advanced WordPress Tutorial


This is a collection of tutorial pages for mode advanced WordPress users. Here you can find information on how to achieve different results in your WordPress powered sites.

 

Advanced WordPress Tutorial Content

 
 
 

This Advanced WordPress Tutorial covers the following topics:

 
 
 
 
  

WordPress SEO

This tutorial will show you how to improve the SEO of your WordPress blog. You can check our SEO General Guide for more information about SEO.

How to SEO WordPress

  • Permalinks - WordPress' tool for customizing your blog links;
  • Meta descriptions - set a correct meta description for each page/post you make to improve your ranking in the search results;
  • Optimize your images - allow search engines to correctly index your images;
  • Use Headings - the proper structure of your articles will rank your content higher;

How to use Permalinks to optimize your WordPress website

WordPress gives you the freedom to set your links the way you want them to look like. In the administrative area of WordPress go to Settings -> Permalinks. On this page you can choose from several predefined options or use a custom structure for your links.

You can choose the Custom Structure option and enter /%postname%/ for example. This will make your links look like http://yourdomain.com/the-name-of-your-post/. Or you can enter /%category%/%postname%/ if you want to include the name of your category in the URL. You can also add custom text or other WordPress variables. The full list of available variables that you can use in your permalinks can be found at the WordPress official website.

How to optimize your meta descriptions

You should enter the meta description for each one of your pages. Use simple but informative sentences. The search engines will check how relevant your description is to the actual content of your page so  make sure that you describe only the current page and avoid adding irrelevant information in this description.

It is a good practice to categorize your posts in articles. Once you go to the Posts -> Categories page in your admin area, note the description field available for each category. WordPress will take what you enter in this field and insert it as meta description for the category.

How to optimize your images

It is essential to have the "title" and "alt" tags specified for each one of the images you use in your posts. The search engines will then know what this image is supposed to represent. Typing the title and alt tags for each image you use, however, can be a time-consuming task. Instead, you can use the handy SEO Friendly Images plugin. For more information on how to install this plugin, you can check our tutorial on How to install WordPress plugins.

Once you install the plugin, go to Settings -> SEO Friendly Images in your WordPress admin area. On this page you can specify the ALT and TITLE tags for your images. The plugin gives you the option to use internal variables such as %title, %name and %category. With them you can set the ALT and TITLE tags of your images to the title of your post for example. The plugin does the rest. This saves you a lot of time  and keeps your images SEO-friendly .

How to use Headings to optimize your WordPress blog

You should make sure that you use the <h1> tag only for the titles of your posts.

You should use a few <h2> tags and as many <h3> tags as you need for the other headings in your posts. Doing this will allow the search engines to index the important information from your website better. A good document has headings and subheadings, because headings make it easier to determine the subject of the page.

For blog websites the best SEO practice is to set the title of your post in a heading1 tag. Most of the good WordPress templates do that. If not, you should modify the theme in order to achieve a correct output of your pages.


WordPress in Your Language



WordPress has one of the largest if not the largest communities in the world of CMS applications. This community has translated WordPress into many languages. You can easily change the default language of your installation.

To change the WordPress back and frontend language, open the wp-config.php file in your root folder. In it locate the following line:

define ('WPLANG', '');

and replace it with:

define ('WPLANG', 'bg_BG');

where bg_BG is the locale code of your country. Check out this page for a full list of locale codes.

WordPress AdSense

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 add a "Text" widget and click on the "Add" button next to it.

Then a new window with your widget will open. Click on the edit link in its right part in order to open the edit panel of the widget. You should add a title (in our case - Advertisement) and right under it the actual code that you have obtained from Google. Next, click on the "Done" button and after that on the "Save Changes" button right under it.

Well done! You have just added your AdSense code to your WordPress blog.


What is The Loop

The Loop is a term used in the WordPress community to describe the internal cycle used to display each of your posts. Using The Look, WordPress processes all posts and displays them on the current page, formatted and filtered. Any HTML, PHP or other code placed within The Loop will be repeated on each post.

The most simple example of The Loop is the following code:

<?php if ( have_posts() ) : while ( have_posts() ) : the_post(); ?>
<?php endwhile; endif; ?>

The Loop is the main part of each theme - it is the core of each WordPress site. If you find a instruction to place piece of code "within The Loop" you should place it before the endwhile; element that closes the cycle.


How to create a simple WordPress theme

This tutorial will show you how to create a simple WordPress theme. When building your own theme, you can use our Free Wordpress themes for reference.

How to create a basic WordPress theme?

To start building your theme, first create a sub-folder in the wp-content/themes directory in your WordPress folder. For the purpose of this tutorial, we will call the folder "tutorial_theme". The name of the folder should correspond to the name of the theme you want to create. To do this you can use either your favorite FTP client or the File Manager tool in your cPanel.

Before you start creating the theme, you should decide how the layout of your website will look like. In this tutorial we will build a WordPress theme that consist of a header, sidebar, content area and a footer ,as shown below:

To do this we will have to create the following files into the tutorial_theme directory:

  • header.php - This file will contain the code for the header section of the theme;
  • index.php - This is the main file for the theme. It will contain the code for the Main Area and will specify where the other files will be included;
  • sidebar.php - This file will contain the information about the sidebar;
  • footer.php - This file will handle your footer;
  • style.css - This file will handle the styling of your new theme;

You can either create those files locally with a simple text editor(like notepad for example) and upload them via FTP or you can use the File Manager tool in your cPanel to create the files directly on your hosting account.

Now let's take a closer look at each file and what it should contain:

The header.php file

In this file you should add the following code:

<html>
<head>
<title>Tutorial theme</title>
<link rel="stylesheet" href="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_url'); ?>">
</head>
<body>
  <div id="wrapper">
    <div id="header">
      <h1>HEADER</h1>
    </div>
 

Basically, this is simple HTML code with a single line containing a php code and a standard WordPress function. In this file you can specify your meta tags such as the title of your website, meta description and the keywords for your page.

Right after the title the line we add <link rel="stylesheet" href="<?php bloginfo('stylesheet_url'); ?>"> tells WordPress to load the style.css file. It will handle the styling of your website. The <?php bloginfo('stylesheet_url'); ?> part of the line is a WordPress function that actually loads the stylesheet file.

Next, we have added the beginning of a "div" with class wrapper which will be the main container of the website. We have set class for it so we can modify it via the style.css file.

After that we have added a simple label HEADER wrapped in a "div" with class "header" which will be later specified in the stylesheet file.

The index.php file

<?php get_header(); ?>
   
<div id="main">
  <div id="content">
    <h1>Main Area</h1>
    <?php if (have_posts()) : while (have_posts()) : the_post(); ?>
    <h1><?php the_title(); ?></h1>
    <h4>Posted on <?php the_time('F jS, Y') ?></h4>
    <p><?php the_content(__('(more...)')); ?></p>
    <hr>
    <?php endwhile; else: ?>
    <p><?php _e('Sorry, no posts matched your criteria.'); ?></p>
    <?php endif; ?>
  </div>

  <?php get_sidebar(); ?>

  </div>

<div id="delimiter"></div>

<?php get_footer(); ?>

The code in this file begins with <?php get_header(); ?> which will include the header.php file and the code in it in the main page. It uses an internal WordPress function to do this. We will explain this in details later in this tutorial. Then we have placed a Main Area text to indicate which section of your theme is displayed in this area.

The next few lines consist of a PHP code and standard WordPress functions. This code checks whether you have posts in your blog created through the WordPress administrative area and displays them.

Next, we include the sidebar.php file with this line - <?php get_sidebar(); ?>. In this file you can display your post categories, archives etc.

After this line, we insert an empty "div" that will separate the Main Area and the Sidebar from the footer.

Finally, we add one last line - <?php get_footer(); ?> which will include the footer.php file in your page.

 The sidebar.php file

In the sidebar.php we will add the following code:

<div id="sidebar">
  <h2 class="sidebartitle"><?php _e('Categories'); ?></h2>
  <ul class="list-cat">
    <?php wp_list_cats('sort_column=name&optioncount=1&hierarchical=0'); ?>
  </ul>
 
  <h2 class="sidebartitle"><?php _e('Archives'); ?></h2>
    <ul class="list-archives">
      <?php wp_get_archives('type=monthly'); ?>
    </ul>
</div>

In this file we use internal WordPress functions to display the Categories and Archives of posts. The WordPress function returns them as list items, therefore we have wrapped the actual functions in unsorted lists (the <ul> tags).

The footer.php file

You should add these lines to the footer.php file:

<div id="footer">
  <h1>FOOTER</h1>
</div>

</div>

</body>
</html>

With this code we add a simple FOOTER lable. Instead of this code you can add links, additional text, the copyright information for your theme and additional objects.

The style.css file

Add the following lines to the style.css file:

body {
    text-align: center;
}

#wrapper {
    display: block;
    border: 1px #a2a2a2 solid;
    width:90%;
    margin:0px auto;
}

#header {
    border: 2px #a2a2a2 solid;
}

#content {
    width: 75%;
    border: 2px #a2a2a2 solid;
    float: left;
}

#sidebar {
    width: 23%;
    border: 2px #a2a2a2 solid;
    float: right;
}

#delimiter {
    clear: both;
}

#footer {
    border: 2px #a2a2a2 solid;
}

.title {
    font-size: 11pt;
    font-family: verdana;
    font-weight: bold;
}

This simple css file sets the basic looks of your theme. Those lines  set the background of your page and surround the main parts of your site with borders for convenience. At this point your website should look like this:

As we have previously mentioned, internal WordPress functions are often used in the code of the theme. You can take a look at the complete Function Reference at the official website of WordPress for more information about each function.

From now on you can modify the CSS file, add images, animations and other content to your theme in order to achieve the looks you want for your blog!


How to Add a Facebook Like Button to Your Posts

Now, it is easier than ever to add the Facebook famous "Like"/"Recommend" to your posts and increase their popularity.

First, you need to login as administrator to the WordPress admin panel. Then go to Appearance -> Editor. Then place the following code wherever you want the like button to appear:

<iframe src="http://www.facebook.com/plugins/like.php?href=<?php echo urlencode(get_permalink($post->ID)); ?>&amp;layout=standard&amp;show_faces=false&amp;width=350&amp;action=like&amp;colorscheme=light" scrolling="no" frameborder="0" allowTransparency="true" style="border:none; overflow:hidden; width:350px; height:25px"></iframe>

The final result should look like this:

FaceBook Like Button


How to display posts from a category

If you want to display posts from a single category in your WordPress theme, you should add the following line below the Loop:

<?php query_posts( 'cat=33' ); ?>

Replace 33 with your category ID. This will filter the Look showing only posts from the category you have selected. If you want to show more than one category, you can add the IDs separated with comas:

<?php query_posts( 'cat=33,44,55,66' ); ?>

How to show the post author in your page

To display information about the post author, open the single.php file of your WordPress theme and find where the content is displayed - "<?php the_content(''); ?>". After this, add the following lines in your theme:

<?php if ($lw_post_author == "true" && is_attachment() != TRUE) : ?>
<div class="about_author">
<div class="alignleft"><?php echo get_avatar( get_the_author_id(), '28' );   ?></div>
<div class="alignleft"><h4><?php _e('Author','lightword'); ?>: <a href="<?php the_author_url(); ?> "><?php the_author(); ?></a></h4>
<?php the_author_description(); if(!get_the_author_description()) _e('No description. Please update your profile.','lightword'); ?></div><div class="clear"></div> </div>
<?php endif; ?>

This will add information about the post author on your site. Simply update your style.css in order to make this block look the way you want.

How to change a Wordpress site URL

Sometimes you may need to change the URL of your WordPress site. For example, it is a common practice to develop the new version of your site in a subfolder and when it is ready to move it into your root directory. WordPress, however, relies on its URL settings to work correctly. This means that if you simply move your files and database it will not work properly. The URL settings are located in the application database. Fortunately, direct database modification can be avoided by using a nice function provided by the WordPress developers named "update_option". Simply add these lines to the functions.php file of your theme:

update_option('siteurl','http://www.new-site-address.com');
update_option('home','http://www.new-site-address.com');

Then simply load your site from its new location - it should work just fine. Note that after you run your site once and you make sure it works you should delete those lines from your functions.php file. The settings are already stored in your database and should not be modified each time your site is loaded.

How to display a random comment from a single post

If you want to include a random comment from one of your posts you can use the following code in your theme:

<?php
   $post_id = 33;  // Put the 'testimonials' id here
   $comments = get_comments("post_id=$post_id&status=approve");
   if ($comments) {
     $ndx = mt_rand(1,sizeof($comments)) - 1;
     $comment = $comments[$ndx];
   }
?>

<p><?php echo $comment->comment_content; ?></p>
<p><?php echo $comment->comment_author; ?></p>

Replace "33" with the post ID you want to get your comments from. Such technique is often used to get comments from post that asks for feedback for example.

How to hide specific category from posts page

Sometimes, when you display certain posts on your WordPress powered site you may need to hide speciffic categories from posts pages. This is needed because categories are often used as system "markers" in sites structure.

To do this, enter the following lines above the Loop (check out this tutorial for more information on What is The Loop) :

<?php if (is_front_page() && !is_paged() )
     $posts = query_posts($query_string . '&cat=-33,-66'); ?>
     
This prevents posts from categories 33 and 66 from appearing in the list of posts.

How to Remove WordPress 3 Admin Bar

In WordPress 3.1 and later versions there is a brand new feature - the admin bar. It allows you to perform administrative tasks to your blog while browsing through its front end. Of course it requires from you to be logged in with an username that has admin privileges.

There are many people, however, that would like to disable this feature. Mainly because it moves your entire website with about half an inch down and creates conflicts with some themes.

Although, this admin bar can be disabled by adding a filter in your functions.php file, the easiest and cleanest way to do this is through the WordPress user configuration page. Login with your account and then navigate to Users -> Users menu in your left column. Once on this page, hover over the selected user and click on the Edit button that appears.

On the next page, simply remove the "Show Admin Bar when viewing site" check and save the settings. The Admin bar will no longer be displayed on the front end of your blog.


Start up guide for blogs

Where to login?

In order to start creating your blog site, you need to login into the WordPress administration area, where you can write posts and articles, manage comments, change your theme, etc. To login the WP admin panel, please navigate to the WP login page from your side menu under the section Meta -> Login or by entering the exact URL:

www.yourdomain.com/wp-login.php

Writing a post in WordPress

Writing posts and pages is the core activity in WP. You can start your editorial experience at the Write menu

Wordpress - Writing a Post

You can simply proceed with entering the desired content in the Title and Post boxes. Once you are ready the new post can be published just by clicking the [Publish] button.

Wordpress - Publish a Post

Creating pages in WordPress

Creating individual pages in WordPress is quite similar to writing a post. You should simply click on the [Write a page] button from the Write menu.

Wordpress -

Note that various advanced options, such as entering meta tag info, are also available in the menu to the right.