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Is WordPress Right for You?

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NOTE: These are instructions for a client who wanted to give WordPress a test drive before making a decision regarding a new website. I decided to publish it since it might prove useful to others who may be thinking about a WordPress-based website or blog.

To experiment with a WordPress website from scratch (without paying a dime), visit the free signup page at wordpress.com. You'll be given a free set of keys to a new WordPress site.

It would defeat the purpose for me to give you step-by-step instructions at this point, for our purpose here is to determine whether WordPress is right for you. I have found WordPress to be very intuitive, and it was pretty easy to figure out how to create blog posts and web pages. All you need to know are some basic blogging terms (even though you are going to use this not for a mere blog but for your whole web site).

WordPress is a blogging platform, or "blogware" however, it is also a simple content management system (CMS) which can work just fine as a way for the owner of a small website to be in complete control of the content on the website.

This is a point I wish to emphasize: even though WordPress was created for the purpose of blogging, it can also be used to create "normal" web pages and to control the content of those web pages – and much more. How much you do with WordPress will depend upon how much you decide to experiment with WordPress and learn about its many capabilities. You do NOT have to create a blog.

The first step is for you to log in to the new blog you created as the site administrator, which gives you complete control. You can change practically anything on or about the site.

Do not be intimidated by the admin screens. Even though there are a lot of choices, there are only a few that you will need to know in order to administer your site’s content.

If you want some helpful documentation that will tell you everything you need to know about WordPress, then check out these links:

I will get you started. You can create two types of content: blog posts or web pages. Since you want a web site and not a blog, you will choose Pages – Add New.

If you want a blog, then you will choose Posts -- Add New, since blogs are comprised of Posts rather than Pages.

The difference between a blog and a website: websites are organized by sections and pages; blogs are organized by date and category. The only real difference between the two is that by default a blog will show you the most recent entry (called a post), followed by the next-most recent post, and so on; and by default, a web site will display whatever you choose to designate as "Home Page" first.

Now, go ahead and create a few web pages and see if you can figure out how to create, edit, and organize the web pages without looking at any documentation. I am sure you will be able to do this with minimal effort if you give it a chance.

Soon you should know whether you can handle doing this yourself. If you cannot – if you are uncomfortable with this process - then you should probably stick to a regular website and let others do the editing.

If you have decided to use WordPress, the next step is to choose a design or theme that you like the appearance of.

Here are a few places where you can look at hundreds of free WordPress themes:

If you want to look at more WordPress themes, just Google it and you will have WordPress layouts and designs aplenty.