Select “WordPress” under the blog category.

Rename the folder “blog” instead of the default “WordPress”. (I do this simply because the word “blog” is more generic, and search engines read urls.

For those who don’t have 1-click install on the server admin interface supplied by their internet service provider (host), download the software here:
http://wordpress.org/

And follow the installation instructions in the documentation:
http://codex.wordpress.org/Main_Page

A WordPress Theme is a design template created by generous individuals who donate the designs they create.

There are hundreds of themes to choose from on the WordPress website:
http://wordpress.org/extend/themes/
Review them, and when you have selected one, download it.  It is easy to change your theme selection, so don’t be afraid to try a few out.

Themes change the appearance and interface of your blog but they don’t affect the backend. If you follow the simple steps for changing a theme, it is difficult to screw-up how WordPress functions. If you find a theme doesn’t work for you and you would like to try another, simply download, install, and select a different theme.

Download your chosen theme into the blog/wpcontent/themes folder. Unzip and upload to your site. Once it is uploaded, change the theme in the Dashboard under “Change Theme” or choose “Appearance” in the main nav along the left column of your Wordpress blog admin interface. This will take you to the “Manage Theme” page. Select the theme you’ve installed.

Click on “activate” in the top right hand corner of your selected theme.

To make custom design changes to the theme you’ve selected, use the “editor” in the “appearance” section (off the main navigation along the left column.) Be sure to first review the theme, looking for images and css font styles. Take it slowly, but don’t be afraid. The worst case scenario is you mess-up the original theme.  To fix it, just save over theme with the original files, and your back to normal.

There are a number of concepts that you should focus on when considering how to best use a blog.

There are both “static” pages and “blogpost” pages.

The static pages, such as “About” or “Contact” are pages whose content doesn’t change very often, and when they are changed, the new content replaces the outdated content on your site.

Blogpost pages are your articles, thoughts, and writings that do not get updated. They are time/date stamped and represent the ideas at that time. They are often open for comments by your audience, although you can turn off this feature, or filter what comments you want to allow. If you find something that is incorrect in the original post, the common procedure is to add to the original post clarifying the correction, but at times, leaving the original misinformation there so viewer understand that the information wasn’t originally accurate. This, of course, is done at your own discretion.

Then there are “categories” and “tags”.

Categories can be thought of as a directory of information. They function much like a navigation system that organizes the topics of your writing for readers to easily follow.

Tags are like keywords. They highlight some of the main concepts that are covered in your blogpost.

There are some plugins I would recommend that you install to make your blog experience more fulfilling.

• Askimet is a plugin that acts as a spam filter. A definite must.
• WordPress Automatic Upgrade makes upgrading your blog to the latest version very easy.
• Google Analytics for WordPress will track and analyze traffic to your site.

UPDATE: 4/6/09— As part of the hybrid class, ADV3650 Spring 2009 students must post a comment listing and describing 2 affiliate programs they found and considered for their project site. Tell us how each works, the registration process, and the commission structure for the affiliate program.

I wanted to ask you why do we need a ISP service?  What does ISP service mean?  Is godaddy or kionic an ISP service?  Is godaddy the same thing is kionic??  And I was wondering do we have to sign up with kionic or could I sign up with godaddy instead kionic?

Answer:

An ISP is an Internet Service Provider. Both Godaddy and Kionic are ISPs. ISPs host your website, and offer software and services, such as email accounts, spam filtering software, and blog software support. We will be implementing these in the course. The packages that each ISP offers will differ in terms of price, services, and quality of customer care offered.
I am currently recommending Kionic for multiple reasons. I have used them for a number of years, and I find their quality of service is very good and consistent. The price that they offer is quite competitive. And I am creating a relationship with them for us as a group, so if we as a class run into problems, they will work quickly to fix those difficulties. Should their services be unsatisfactory, either individually or as a group, it allows you/us to go elsewhere.
You can sign up with any ISP of your choosing.  The school also offers server space to students. I will be teaching the course based on the services that I know Kionic offers.  Particularly, they offer easy-install WordPress, which is blogging software.  If you choose another ISP and have technical difficulties implementing blogging software, or email accounts, for instance, my ability to solve your problems will be limited.  It will be your account, and the other company may not be as responsive to your technical difficulties. I will not have any influence to step in on your behalf.
One of the goals of the course is to offer real world experiences in all aspects of web design. Managing a vendor, like an ISP, and implementing technology through an administrator interface are an important experiences. They will be great talking points when you are interviewing for a job at a small, medium, or large company, or if you decide to run your own design firm.

Here is a way you can find out whether a domain is available without domainers knowing that you are interested in a specific url. It gives you a little time to think carefully about which names you prefer.

On your Mac, go into Applications/Utilities/Network Utility.app.

Launch the Network Utility application, and select the Whois tab.

In the first input textbox, type in the domain name you are searching for. Make sure whois.internic.net is selected in the dropdown list of the second textbox. Click on the blue Whois button (on the right) to start the search.  This search may take a minute or so.

The results will indicate whether the domain name you were searching for is available to be registered, or if someone else has already registered it.