New Features in Version 3.0 of WordPress
WordPress 3.0 has arrived and people are uncovering many new features to make your WordPress blog and website much easier to create and more functional to use thanks to the new version.
The core functions of WordPress are still the same and if you have ever used WordPress before you will not have any learning curve. It is still basically the same, but they have made some things in the setup and dashboard easier to use.
One of the things you will notice right up front during the install is the ability to change your main username to whatever you want it to be. Before you were stuck with admin as the main username. You could still add other users and name them whatever you liked. Not a big change, but still just another step to make your installation more customized to you.
There are several other changes including a new default theme design that has a built in header replacement system to make it easy to change. Even though I will probably never use the theme that it comes with, it is a welcome change as the old one was definitely not even in consideration for use in my opinion.
Check out the link below for a full post about 10 changes that come with WordPress 3.0 …
>> 10 Great New Features in WordPress 3.0 | Post
Read MoreFinding and Installing WordPress Themes :: WordPress Installation Series
Probably the greatest benefit to WordPress is that you have people around the world working hard to create WordPress designs for you. Many of these are free and there are also a lot of websites where you can purchase themes.
There are many ways that you can find WordPress Theme designs. The first is to go the the WordPress Themes Directory and see if there is something that matches the vision of the site you are trying to create. The theme directory is free and has thousands of options for your site design.
The other way is to simply do a Google search for free or premium paid themes. You will pull up literally thousands of options so you may want to add some description to what you are looking for. Try adding the color or style descriptions to narrow down your Google search. If you are wanting to create a simple business or personal website free themes will work fine.
However, if you want to have full control over the design you may want to try purchasing a premium theme design. Designers have started putting ads in the footers of some free themes that are very difficult or impossible to remove. Just saying that you may not want an ad for luggage in your business website footer.
When you find a theme design that you want to use download and unzip it, then upload it to your WordPress installation into the wp-content/themes/ folder. Then login to your WordPress dashboard and activate it. There is also a theme finder in the WordPress dashboard where you can search and install without having to use FTP.
You don’t have to be a website designer to have a great website. Use other people’s work to your advantage and put WordPress themes into use on your WordPress website.
Read MoreFinding and Installing WordPress Plugins :: WordPress Installation Series
One of the main benefits to WordPress is the flexibility and functionality of the WordPress Plugin. There are free and paid plugins available. If you are just starting out, I would guess that the thousands of free plugins in the WordPress Plugin Directory will be a great place to start.
In addition to the directory, a quick Google search for free and premium plugins will pull up too many options to choose from. So a better approach is to determine what you are trying to accomplish on your website and then search for that specific plugin. You can do this search both in the WordPress plugin directory and on Google. Most likely you will find whatever you need from administration plugins such as the Automatic WordPress Backup to plugins to display your photos on your site.
After you find and download the zip file for your plugin you can unzip it and load it into your WordPress installation. To do this you will open your FTP program and login to your website and locate your WordPress files. Then you find the wp-content/plugins folder and upload the plugin file or files into it. Then login to your WordPress dashboard plugins area and activate it.
Another way to search for plugins is in the WordPress dashboard itself and there is a search feature. You can avoid FTP and find, upload and install plugins right from the dashboard. One word of caution about plugins however. Don’t upload too many and especially get rid of ones you are not using. They slow your site down so delete them.
What do you want to do with your website? Begin searching the WordPress Plugins Directory and add more functionality to your website.
Read MoreBacking up and Upgrading WordPress
Before you upgrade your current WordPress installation to 3.0 Thelonious or any future versions you will want to back up your website and database. Not much is worse than upgrading your website and losing everything in the middle of the process. I guess the only thing I can think of that would be worse is losing a website you were upgrading for someone else.
It really is not that difficult now with a little effort and some plugins. I currently use the Automatic WordPress Upgrade Plugin and it works well for me. At some point I may write out a detailed upgrade process, but a blog I follow has already done it for you. Check out the link below for a quick overview of how to create a backup of your current WordPress website.
Worry Free Upgrade, Update and Backup Process for WordPress
Read MoreWordPress 3.0 – Thelonious
The latest version of WordPress has officially been released. WordPress 3.0 Thelonious
is the newest version and is full of bug fixes and upgrades to the free WordPress software for your website, blog or podcast.
I will be upgrading this website and others to 3.0 as soon as I get the chance. Before upgrading though you will want to backup your current WordPress install and check to make sure your most necessary plugins are compatible with the new version.
One of the reasons I am waiting is that my WordPress Membership Plugin is still developing an update to make it compatible. It is definitely worth the wait if you have any questions about whether or not your plugins will continue to work.
At some point soon I will be working with 3.0, but for now just wanted to let you know that it is out there for you as an option. For sure, if you are creating a new website you will want to start with 3.0. I will update the KicktheWebGeek Video Tutorials in the members area at some point to the 3.0 version, but for now the basics of setting up your WordPress site will still be the same and the tutorials will guide you through the process.
Below are a couple of videos related to the release. Enjoy the WordPress announcement and Matt Mullenweg’s take on 3.0.
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