Chapter 3. Getting Started with WordPress.com

In This Chapter

  • Signing up for a blog

  • Familiarizing yourself with the Dashboard

  • Important options to set before you begin

  • Finding the help you need

If you're just starting out and don't want to spend money purchasing a domain name and hosting your site with a third-party Web host, then WordPress.com has a great alternative for you.

This part takes a complete look at the hosted service offered at WordPress.com, and in this chapter, you discover how to create a free blog through this service. You also find out how to get your hosted blog up and running.

Don't confuse WordPress.com with the blogging software available for download at WordPress.org! The two were created and developed by the same folks, and they do have the same name; however, they are different varieties of WordPress. (See Part III for information on installing and using the self-hosted version of WordPress.org.)

Creating a WordPress.com Account

To create your WordPress.com user account, follow these steps:

  1. In your browser, enter the URL http://wordpress.com.

  2. On the page that appears, click the big Sign Up Now! button (shown in Figure 3-1).

    On the WordPress.com main page, click the Sign Up Now button.

    Figure 3-1. On the WordPress.com main page, click the Sign Up Now button.

    You're taken to the WordPress.com signup page at http://wordpress.com/signup.

  3. In the Username text box, enter the name you want to use to log in to your blog from now until forever ...

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