Are you thinking about creating your own website? Visual Steps can help. Perhaps you would like to document your family history, or discuss your favorite genre of music or just want to post the latest news and event information for a local club or organization but don’t know where to begin. The free WordPress software will help you get started.
What is WordPress?
WordPress is a free and open-source Content Management System. This is a system that lets you manage the content of a website. If you would try to create or maintain a website starting from scratch, you would need to be adept at several programming languages such as HTML, JavaScript or PHP. You would enter the program code one line at a time by hand. This code tells your Internet browser, for example, Internet Explorer, just how the website needs to look. With WordPress you can build and edit the website by using links and editing boxes, without having to change anything in the code. It is a lot like filling in a form. This way, it is easier for you to focus on the appearance and content of the website without having to worry about the code.
What you will need
Before you can start working with WordPress, you will need to set up the program. You will need web space from a hosting provider for your website and a domain name. A hosting provider rents web space. You can upload your website to this space. Other people will then be able to visit your website on the Internet.
A domain name is the web address for your website, such as www.mysite.com. Furthermore, you will need a MySQL database and a FTP program to upload files to your web space. These terms might scare you a bit when you hear them for the first time. But this will all be explained in the book Creating a Website with WordPress [http://www.visualsteps.com/wordpress/index.php].
This practical how-to book, shows you step by step exactly what to do. You start off by choosing an attractive theme (template) with which to build your website. Then you fill the website with your own text, pictures, videos and hyperlinks. By using this book and the software from WordPress, you will have everything you need to create your own website! More information about this book can be found on http://www.visualsteps.com/wordpress/index.php