The Web Mechanic’s WordPress 101

by Ken Dawes Leave a Comment

Ok… You have decided to use WordPress for your website/blog, now what the heck do you do?

The Web Mechanic’s WordPress 101 will be a series of articles on setting up and using WordPress. I plan to write these articles on individual topics and will try to make them as “user-friendly” as I can. If something seems confusing or not explained clearly enough for you, please submit a comment and I’ll try to clarify things.

I don’t plan on having an article on installing WordPress. Different webhosts do things differently and I wouldn’t be able to give you a “one size fits all” instruction, as much as I’d like to. What you’ll want to do is to contact your webhost’s customer service and ask them what you’ll need to do to install WordPress. If you don’t already have a webhost, let me throw in a plug for bluehost.com. I recommend them to my clients. Their rates are great, they are easy to use and their customer service has really impressed me!

While I will pretty much be presenting the WordPress 101 articles in the order of “first do this” and “then do that”, that won’t always be the case, and one of the great things about WordPress is that in general, you don’t need to do things in a defined order… WordPress is very forgiving!

Ok, let’s begin!

Next: I have WordPress installed. Now what?

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I used an acquaintance to build my website originally, but was very frustrated with the way the site looked and worked, and received no help at all. I called the Web Mechanic, and two short weeks later, I have a site I can be proud of. My clients appreciate the difference, and Ken’s work has made my site a valuable tool for my business. I highly recommend the Web Mechanic’s services to anyone needing help with a website.

Giles Beilby

Aiden Construction

The Web Mechanic not only provided prompt and outstanding service, but also improved the original design of our web site by enhancing our navigational constructs.

Sherreen Ogletree

Wiltech Systems Group

Ken Dawes of The Web Mechanic made complicated changes to my Wordpress site easy by finding the exact plugins, creating the code, and tutoring me on how to modify my page hierarchy in clear terms that even a novice such as myself could understand. He’s a life saver.

Alice Shapiro

The Poet's Tongue

Ken was a fantastic resource to me in helping convert my website design and content into WordPress in order to allow greater flexibility. He also was very helpful in helping me understand the steps for starting and maintaining a blog as well as other neat things, using widgets that act as plug-ins for WordPress …whenever I have a question, I know he’s there to help me figure it out!

Jen Berkley

The Insight Advantage

At a time when our chef recipe site traffic was doubling by the month, we had the unfortunate experience of malicious hacking defacements. We were unable to find the bad code inserted in the site and were at our wits end. We found Ken the Web Mechanic via Twitter, and hired him to fix the site. He did a wonderful job making our site secure and safe, was affordable, and easily reachable via email and phone. We highly recommend him for fixing and protecting your Wordpress site, and will use him again in the future without hesitation. Thank you so much Ken!

Savory Tv

I had been dreading creating a workable web site for more than a year, and then, thanks to a referral, I found Ken. He took my concept, improved it with my blessing and made it a reality. I love the layout and site design, but I also love the ease of administration. When Ken finished the site, he explained the “inner” workings to me in terms that I could understand, with no web guru jargon, providing simple instructions so that I can maintain my site. I am 100% satisfied and will definitely be on his repeat customer list. I encourage you to talk with Ken if you want a current, attractive website that matches your business model and that is easy to administer.

Rebecca Bond

Secure Db2

I put out one tweet on Twitter and there you were! I wasn’t quite sure what to expect but your FAR exceeded my expectations. Not only are you fast in responding but you also take the time to explain everything in a very user friendly way. I was never frustrated and you took care of the problem very efficiently. I felt that you are well versed in what I needed for our website to be up and running. you did more than I thought you even would and I so appreciate it! I will definitely be calling on you again!

Ming

Reiki Fur Babies, LLC

Ken Dawes successfully migrated our website to WordPress and made it much easier for the less initiated to maintain and made it look exactly the same as the old site. Well done!

Rev. Steve Ellis

St. John Episcopal Church

I have been working with Ken for over 10 years and his web support and attention to detail keeps my website organized, material accessible, and ready for all types of web, tablet and mobile device layouts. His skills also make sure my site is protected, ready for my usage spikes, and synced with my ISP to head off any potential issues.

I highly recommend Ken for taking care of your ISP, web material, and website issues.

Dave Beulke

Pragmatic Solutions