1. Go to http://www.wordpress.com and click on the Sign Up Now button.
   
   
   
   
2. Next fill out the requested account set up information
3. The Username entered here is a login username.
4. Be sure to write down your username and password.
5. Unless you change your username in step 14 this will ALSO become part of your blog address. This will be discussed in greater detail in steps 12 - 16.
6. We recommend that at the bottom of the page you leave the Gimmie a blog! radio button checked. If you do this when you are done with this process your blog will be ready to go.
7. When done click on the Next button.
   
   
   
   
8. After entering your desired Username, WordPress will check its database of usernames. If yours already exists your must try another one. If the username exists you will see the message "Sorry, that username already exists!" as seen in the next screen shot.
   
   
   
   
9. If you see the message above, enter a new username as shown in the next screen shot.
10. Click on the Next button.
    
    
    
    
11. If your new username is accepted you will see a screen like the one in the next screen shot.
12. Notice that the username you have entered is ALSO the name that by default will be the first part of your blog Internet address also known as a URL (Internet speak for uniform resource locator).
13. YOU CAN CHANGE THIS IF YOU WANT TO. You may want a catchier name, one that is easy for people to remember.
    
    
    
14. If you wish to change the actual domain name of your WordPress Internet address (URL) change it at this time by entering a new name in the Blog Domain field.
15. In the example below the blog's domain name has been changed to van21demo.
16. The actual Internet address of the blog will now be van21demo.wordpress.com. This name will be easier to remember and spell. It is also more descriptive of the purpose of the blog which is to demonstrate how WordPress works at workshops and other educational sessions.
    
    
17. Note that in the next screen shot. That What is in the Blog Title field may be changed "at any time." What is in this field will be the signature that is automatically inserted after every blog post. I recommend that you leave it alone for now and if desired, change it in your account set up preferences AFTER the account is fully set up.
    
    
    
    
18. When done, click on the Signup button.
    
    
    
    
19. When the screen refreshes you will see the "Check Your Email to Complete Registration" message.
    
    
    
    
    
20. Go to your email and look for a message from WordPress.
21. Open the message and click on the activation link as shown in the next screen shot.
    
    
    
    
22. When the activate account page opens in your browser you will see a screen similar to the next screen shot. You will also see your password in the Password box. It has been erased from this screen shot. for obvious reasons!
23. Next click on the Login link as shown in the next screen shot.
24. This will take you back to the WordPress home page.
25. You are NOT logged in to your account yet, you have just created your account.
    
    
    
    
26. On the WordPress home page look for this log in box.
27. Enter your Username and Password and click on the Login button.
    
    
    
    
28. The screen will refresh however the change is subtle. You may not realize the screen has refreshed.
29. Look for the box shown in the next screen shot.
30. Click on your blog domain name displayed under the phrase Your blogs.
31. Next you will go to your blog dashboard.
    
    
    
32. The left portion of your blog Dashboard will look like the next screen shot. This is where you tinker with your blog to get it looking and working as you wish.
33. If you want to see the default blog page style that WordPress automatically assigns to your blog, at the top left of the screen click on the link in the gray area that is your current blog name. In this case it's Vantage21st's Blog. Yours will be different.
34. Keep in mind you can change this name to anything you want to at any time.
    
    
    
    
35. As of this writing the left portion of the default WordPress page layout looks like the page in the next screen shot. Pretty simple yet fully functional. You have the option of selecting a different design or "Theme" as WordPress calls it at any time.
36. The default page will show a default blog post made by WordPress. They have also made one default comment to the default post. This is to give you a feel for what a real post and a comment looks like. You can delete this default post later while you are setting up your blog dashboard's preferences.
    
    
    
    
37. To return to your Dashboard look over to the right column and locate the word Meta as shown in the next screen shot.
38. Under the META heading click on the > Site Admin link.
39. This will take you back to your Dashboard.
    
    
    
    
    
    
    
40. Once you have returned to your Dashboard you may begin to experiment with setting up your blog. A good place to begin is to click on the Appearance link towards the lower part of the right column.
41. The Available Themes screen will open by default.
42. Click on the various themes to see your blog in different layouts. You can come back and change to a different theme at any time even after it has been going for a while. All the information from your blog will be transferred to the new layout.

Questions? How about a little Plain English coaching to get you up and running fast? Please contact john@vantage21st.com or call 360.855.0109 Monday - Friday 10:00 am - 5:00 pm.