Setting up WordPress

This article is about creating a new WordPress blog. This includes installing and basic customization.

You need to know how how to upload files and how your MySQL database credentials.

I used almost the same setup and I will update this post if I make some bad experiences with it.

Requirements

Minimum

Webserver with:

  • MySQL 5.0 or higher
  • PHP 5.2.4 or higher
  • 10 MB free space
  • Any possibility to upload files
  • The mod_rewrite Apache module.
  • An FTP-Client (e.g. FileZilla)

Installation

  1. Download the latest version from wordpress.org
  2. Decompress it and submit it to your Webserver. It should be directly in your working directory. Example: Use www.martin-thoma.com, not www.martin-thoma.com/wordpress/
  3. Run the installation setup
    1. Fill in your database information (database name, host, database user, database password)
    2. Store wp-config.php in your WordPress-Folder.
    3. Make the most basic configuration of your blog (give it a title, create the admin account)

Plugins

    • Akismet: Protect your blog from spam. Don't forget to add your API Key.
    • Sociable: A little, customizable link bar with icons to share the post on social networks. I miss Google+ ☹
    • SyntaxHighlighter Evolved: A syntax highlighter. Absolutely necessary, if you want to write about code. If you don't write about code, you don't need it.
    • Twitter Tools: a plugin that creates a complete integration between your WordPress blog and your Twitter account.
    • WordPress SEO by Yoast: XML-Sitemap, binding for Google/Bing Webmaster Tools
    • WP-Piwik: Piwik is an OpenSource alternative to Google Analytics. You can get some information about your readers. Download the latest Piwik-Version here and install it on your Website. Don't forget to add your Auth token.

Configuration

    1. Add the categories you want. Go to Posts → Categories
    2. Set your default category. Go to Settings → Writing
    3. Delete the "Hello World!" post.
    4. Delete "Sample" page.
    5. Set a default category in Settings → Writing. Then delete the category "Uncategorized".
    6. Set up a custom theme. You can find free ones on wordpress.org/extend/themes.
    7. Use Permalinks. I use /%postname%/ as I want short URLs. Another plus of this URL is that the URL never changes.

Finetuning

www or non-www-URL: decide if you want www.martin-thoma.com or martin-thoma.com as your standard URL. Both should work, but one should redirect the user to the other. I choose to take martin-thoma.com as I like short URLs. Add this to your .htaccess if you want www.martin-thoma.com:

RewriteEngine on
RewriteCond %{HTTP_HOST} !^www.martin-thoma.com$
RewriteRule ^(.*)$ http://www.martin-thoma.com/$1 [R=301]

Imprint: In Germany, you have to create an imprint. Even if you don't have to create one, I strongly recommend giving your readers the possibility to get to know who writes the posts. It gives you more credibility.

Piwik

  • Piwik
  • Login → Geolocation tab → follow the instructions

Sources and further reading

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