Gather the folders for all plugins and put them into one folder to speed up set up later.

Have your Wordpress theme selected and downloaded and put it in a folder you can find easily.

Step 1: Log into the cpanel of the site and click on Fantastico Icon

Step 2: Select wordpress and install wordpress (which installs the core files) 

Step 3: Log out of the cpanel and launch your FTP software. Using FTP, copy the folder of the theme into the wp-content/themes folder

Step 4: Using FTP, copy the folders of the plugins into wp-content/plugins folder

Step 5: Log into Wordpress dashboard on one site, go to Appearance and select/activate the theme.

Step 6: Go to Plugins and ativate plugins – also for any plugin that requires it, look under Settings for that plugin to add information. One example is the All-in-one SEO plugin that will need the title, description and keywords added.

Step 7: Go to Settings (on the dashboard) and select “General” to check that the url and email are showing correct info

Step 8: Under Settings, select “Writing” and add the Update Services that you want to ping

Step 9: Under Settings, select “Permalinks” and change the Custom Structure to /%category%/%postname%/  … or just to /%postname%/ (note, I recommend this for advanced users only – it will require an .htaccess file and that can get complicated).

Step 10: Click Pages on the Dashboard and add or edit pages for “about us” and other pages if necessary (such as terms or privacy policies) – a Contact us page can be added with a form in it too if you are using a plug in such as cformsII.

Step 11: Select Appearance and then select widgets to add items to the sidebar of your blog (if you are using widget ready themes).

Step 12: Click “Posts” from the dashboard and select “Categories” – enter the categories you want posts to be shown under

Now your blog is ready for you to write your posts. Go to it, and be original, add value with what you share and be interesting!

Note: If you are setting up multiple websites, keep a matrix (using an excel spreadsheet or create a Word file or even a Google doc) of the urls and cpanel logins, as well as wordpress user names and passwords for easy reference.

Technorati Tags: checklist, new wordpress blog, Plugins, set up, setup, steps, Wordpress Tips

Here are a few things that are recommended to do – especially for those of you that host your own blog:

1,  Keep your version updated

2.  Update/ugrade your plugins

3.  Backup your database

Easy Way to Get the Latest Version of Wordpress

The older, unpatched versions of Wordpress (older than 2.8.4) are not secure and are vulnerable to being attacked by a worm that will infect your site. This is what Wordpress.org says about it:

Right now there is a worm making its way around old, unpatched versions of WordPress. This particular worm, like many before it, is clever: it registers a user, uses a security bug (fixed earlier in the year) to allow evaluated code to be executed through the permalink structure, makes itself an admin, then uses JavaScript to hide itself when you look at users page, attempts to clean up after itself, then goes quiet so you never notice while it inserts hidden spam and malware into your old posts.

These things are similar to doing routine maintenance on an automobile – and the ones I am recommending are as easy as putting in windshield wiper fluid or adding oil to your engine. I won’t recommend the ones that would be as difficult as doing a complete oil change (because I am too busy to do any of these things the long and boring way). So, my recommendations are to use more automated methods (which have been created by brilliant programmers for people like me to use – I am not a programmer).  I have written before about a plugin that helps you upgrade your Wordpress to the latest version in an automated step-by-step process. And really, this is so easy! You don’t have to download software and know anything about programming. All you need to do is download a plugin and put it in the “plugins” folder. To get the plugin go here: Download Upgrade Plugin. Then you log into your wp-admin (Wordpress admin) dashboard. Click on the Plugins on the left, activate your new plugin. Then, at the top of your Wordpress administrative dashboard a prompt will appear that says, “Click Here to Automatically Upgrade WordPress to latest Version.” Basically, if you click that there will be instructions that walk you through upgrading. It’s so easy to do, and it will keep your site more secure.

Update/upgrade Wordpress Plugins

I also think you should try to keep any plugins updated. Here is some good information on the Wordpress.org site about site maintenance – http://codex.wordpress.org/WordPress_Site_Maintenance. Ugrading plugins usually only requires you to click the “update now” links on the plugins page. Sometimes you may have to actually download the latest plugin and then upload it to your hosted files.

Keep Backups of your Wordpress Database

After you get your site upgraded, there is also a plugin to use to have backups of the database (which holds all the posts, comments, user and other data for your blog). If you were ever to experience a site problem or hosting problem, you can use the backups to set your site back up. My favorite plugin for scheduling these backups is the WP-DB-Backup plugin. This one is really easy and can be downloaded here: Wordpress Database Backup.

Technorati Tags: database, latest version, maintenace, Plugins, security, update, upgrade, virus, wordpress, worm

Of course, you can always use articles and videos by going directly to websites and using their tools or grabbing the code. But to make it go a bit faster, or to be able to schedule the posts and edit posts, you can use tools that help you with all that.

You know that you need good content to get your pages ranked in search engines (Google, Yahoo, MSN). The following recommendations include Wordpress plugins and article marketing solutions to help you with your website’s content needs.

First recommendation: Caffeinated Content - Instant content. Targeted content. Automatic content. Easy-to-use plugin for Wordpress. Read about caffeinated content. This one isn’t free, but it’s worth every penny of the one time cost of $77. For an in-depth look at the settings and the type of content you can add using this plugin, download this PDF: 7 Steps to Using Caffeinated Content.

Second recommendation: Article Marketing Automation – This is a service (not a plugin) that helps you get articles posted on your blog. Or you can use it to get good ideas and write new articles. And, you can write articles to have them posted on other people’s blogs. It’s one of the best tools/services for article marketing I’ve tried. It’s a cool system where you can add blogs and select what kind of articles you want to add to them. Then when you add your own articles (there is an easy to use article spinning tool) you can put up to 3 links for any site you want to create links to. The article spinner is so easy – you don’t have to use any codes, their system prompts you through each sentence of your article and allows you to rewrite the sentence up to 10 times. This service is not free, but for getting backlinks to your websites and blogs, this is the way to go. Register now for a free trial. AMA Sign Up Page. Read why I like this service.

Third recommendation: Instant Article Wizard Pro. This is another way to spread your articles and links around the internet.  It was developed by a successful internet marketer named Jonathan Leger. His goal in making this tool was to help you get articles with quality content on virtually any subject for any niche you need it for. It’s also a great tool to use to research various topics and writing help for your articles. Speed up your article writing.  Instant Article Wizard requires a computer running Windows 98 / ME / XP / 2000 / 2003 / Vista. The .NET Framework must be installed on your computer (it is by default on XP/2003/Vista).

Technorati Tags: article marketing, auto content generators, plugin, Plugins, wordpress

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Technorati Tags: Advertising, Designers, Marketing, Plugins, Themes, Tips, Tutorials, Viral, Widgets, wordpress