With your theme installed you are ready to begin configuring your blog to look and work the way you want it to. This post is the first of several that will deal with configuring your blog settings.
1. The first thing you’ll do is go to your “Settings” tab, in the left hand menu. The General Tab is at the top of the dropdown and may automatically open. If not, click on “General”
You should see your main settings page…
Depending on your theme, the items might be in a different order but they should all be part of the “General Setup Tab”
The important parts to customize are:
- Site Title
- Tagline
- Email Address
- Timezone
2. Under “Site Title”, make sure it displays the name of your blog exactly as you want to see it in the main header, without the “.com” extension. (Do this even if you’re planning on using a Graphic header.) Make sure it is YOUR INFORMATION!
3. Under “Tagline”, put your best, one-sentence description of what your blog is all about (containing keywords, if you have them). This is YOUR INFORMATION! Your can always come back and change this area.
4. Enter your email address.
5. Do NOT put a checkmark beside membershp at this point.
6. The date, time format and time zone for your local geographic area should be selected.
7. Determine the day of the week you want your blog to start on.
8. Select the language of choice.
9. Make sure you have your login and password written down.
10. Click “Save Changes”. As soon as you click the blue “Save Changes” button at the bottom of the page, you’ll be logged right out of your Dashboard. Simply type: “http://www.blogaddress.com/wp-admin” and log in again. (You will use the domain name of your blog.)
Congratulations, you have set up the general settings of your blog. Now you are ready to move on to the next step.
Do you need additional help setting up your blog? Check out these posts:
Building a Blog: Buying a Domain Name
Building a Blog: Finding a Host
Building a Blog: Selecting a Theme
Building a Blog: Installing a Theme
Building a Blog: How to Configure Writing Settings
Building a Blog: How to Configure Reading Settings
Building a Blog: How to Configure Discussion Settings