As we go down the “Settings” list, the “Reading Tab” is next.
The “Reading Tab” determines what gets displayed.
1. It asks whether you want your blog to show a fixed, static page (like an “ordinary” website) or your latest posts. Google prefers “Your latest posts” … but if you’re running a service-based business and your blog is meant to be your business site, you might want to check “A static page”.
With the static page, the drop-down menu allows you to choose one of your existing pages (the default here is just an “About” tab) to be the Front page. It also allows you to select which tab your posts will appear on. Once your blog is set up, you could create a new page called “Latest Posts” or “Blog Posts”, and go back to this Reading setting to select is as your “Posts page”. But think about this before you decide. You can always come back and change it.
Most will want to select “Your latest posts” – after all, that’s what a blog is all about, sharing frequent posts with your fans and subscribers. Think about this before you decide. You can always come back and change it.
You actually don’t need to touch the “Select” boxes, if you’re going latest blog post option.
2. Change “Blog pages show at most” at 10, and change “Syndication feeds show the most recent” to any number between 10 and 25 (whatever your preference is).
3. Move down to “For each article in feed, show” and select “Summary” rather than the default “Full Text”. Showing summaries rather than entire posts not only arouses reader interest, but helps prevent outright content stealing.
4. Save your changes.
Your are ready to move on to the next setting – Discussions.
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 General Settings
Building a Blog: How to Configure Writing Settings
Building a Blog: How to Configure Discussion Settings