How to Use a WordPress Blog as a CMS

Creating a Static Home Page
1. Log in to your WordPress.com website to create a static home page. While you can still keep a blog, most visitors will not expect to see your blog as the home page of your website. A static page describing your organization and the purpose of the website would be more appropriate.
2. Click 'Pages' in the dashboard, then 'Add New.' Type 'Home' or 'Welcome' in the 'Title' text field. Type any content you want to appear on the home page and include any images as desired. Click 'Publish' when you are finished designing the page.

3. Create a new blank page to display your blog posts since they will not longer be on the home page of your website. Type a name for the page so you can identify it, such as 'Blog' or 'Company Blog.' Click the 'Publish' button.
4. Click 'Reading' in the 'Settings' section of the administrative dashboard. The Reading options page is displayed.
5. Click 'Static Page' under 'Front Page Displays.' Click 'Select' next to 'Front Page' to see the available options. Select the 'Home' page you just published in Step 3.
6. Click 'Select' beside 'Posts Page' and click on the name of your blank blog page published in Step Four. Click 'Save Changes.'
Creating Content Pages and Categories
7. Create a new page for each subject category for your business or organization. Type or paste the appropriate content into each page and then publish it.
8. Provide the URL for each page to those who are interested in that page of content.
9. Create a blog for any page by creating a new blog category. You can do this when you write the first blog for each content category. Click 'Add New Category' on the right of the blog post editor page. Type the name for the category in the text field. For convenience you can name the category the same as the page. Then click the check mark beside that category.
Linking Blog Categories to Each Page
10. Go to a blog post related to a category you created in the section above. Click the 'Category' link at the bottom of the post. This takes you to the Category page, containing only the blog posts related to that category.
11. Highlight the web address for the Category page in the address field of your web browser. Copy it by pressing 'Ctrl C' on the keyboard.
12. Go to the administrative dashboard and click the 'Pages' link.
13. Find the static page for that subject related to the above category. Click 'Edit.' At the bottom of the page type an explanation of the Category blog posts, such as 'Latest blog updates on Dogs' if Dogs is what the category is about. Highlight those words. Click the 'Link' button. Paste the link into the text field by pressing 'Ctrl V' on the keyboard.
14. Click the 'Update' button. The page of content will now have a link to all blog entries related to that page of content.

How to Change the Last Line of Text on a WordPress Blog

1. Click 'Appearance' on the left side of the WordPress dashboard to expand the Appearance section of the menu.
2. Click 'Editor' to edit the files of your WordPress theme.

3. Open the pull-down menu next to 'Select theme to edit,' and choose the theme that you would like to edit the footer of. Click 'Select.'
4. Click 'Footer' on the right side of the page.
5. Press 'Ctrl' and 'F' simultaneously, and then type the text at the bottom of your WordPress website to locate it within the header file, such as 'Proudly powered by.'
6. Remove the text from the footer file, and type the text that you would like the footer to display. Alternatively, remove the text from the footer to display nothing at the bottom of your website. If you are using Twenty Ten, the default theme included with WordPress, remove the code '
', '

' and everything in between.
7. Click the 'Update File' button.

How to Find Your WordPress API Key

1. Go to WordPress.com and enter the proper login information. The WordPress.com account is different from a WordPress.org account, which is used to build a self-hosted WordPress site. The WordPress.com site allows you to create a free blog, but you can also create a user account for enabling certain features, such as the API key.
2. Access your profile page by selecting the link labeled 'My Account' and selecting your profile.

3. Copy your API key and paste it to a text document. Save the document in a safe place for use when setting up your blog.

How to Use More Tags in WordPress Blog Posts

1. Log into your WordPress account. Click on 'Posts' and select 'Add New.'
2. Start writing your post in the blank text box and stop writing when you reach the place where you'd like to enter the 'More' tag.

3. Click on the 'More' tag button in the toolbar above the text box. This button is labeled with the symbol of a page cut in half horizontally with a dotted line. It should be to the right of the hyperlink button, which looks like two links of a chain. Clicking this button adds the code that truncates your post.
4. Click on the 'HTML Editor' tab at the top of the text box. You see a piece of code: '
.' To customize the link that takes readers from the beginning of your post on the front page or archive, add extra text after '
.' This is the message that will appear at the end of the first segment and will contain a link your readers can click on to read the rest of the post.
5. Finish your post and click 'Publish' to make it live. You are now able to view the beginning of your post on the front page of your blog.

How to Change Meta Tags in WordPress

1. Log in to your WordPress admin area. When its Control Panel appears, click 'Appearance' from the menu bar on the left side of the screen, and then click 'Editor.' This brings up the HTML files that control the appearance of your WordPress site.
2. Click 'header.php' from the list of files located down the right side of the screen. Before making any changes to a WordPress HTML file, it is wise to make a back up copy. Select all the code in the central editing area, paste it into a text editor such as Notepad, and save it to your computer.

3. Scan 'header.php' in the editing area of your WordPress screen, and try to find the
tags. They are all located between the
and
tags near the top of the file.
4. Modify the meta tags to suit your needs. When you do this, ensure that the code is correct for each meta tag. All meta tags must have a closing '>' bracket (without quotations), and the value of each attribute must be contained in quotation marks. For example, if you wanted to change the meta description of your WordPress site, which controls what is displayed in the description for the Yahoo!, Bing, and sometimes Google search engines, this would be a correct format to use:

5. Click 'Update File' at the bottom of the page. Your changes have now been saved. Go to your blog page and check that your site is working correctly. If it is not, return to the editor and review your code for mistakes.

How to Customize a WordPress as CMS

1. Create pages for your site. The pages automatically show up in most themes' navigation bars. Decide which is going to become your 'Home' page.
2. Log into your WordPress Dashboard and click 'Settings,' then click 'Reading.' Select 'A Static Page' and then choose the page that will become your homepage. You may also select the page that will be your blog page, but it isn't necessary to do so.

3. Change the permalinks to better reflect your site. Click 'Settings,' then click 'Permalinks' and choose 'Custom Structure.' Enter '/tegory%/%postname%/' into the text box. Click 'Save' at the bottom of the page.
4. Create categories for posts. Remember to choose at least one category for every post. It helps WordPress organize your content when you do. You can even create menus based on these categories.

How to Create a Wordpress Registration Page

1. Log in to the Administrator Control Panel. By default, the direct URL for your admin page is 'http://yourdomain.com/wp-admin/.' (Replace 'yourdomain.com' with the domain name of your Wordpress website.) You can also do this by clicking the 'Log In' or 'Wordpress Admin' link on your website.
2. Click 'Settings,' located at the lower left section of the page.

3. Go to 'Membership' and click 'Anyone can register.'
4. Set the 'New User Default Role' according to your preferences. Subscribers can access your admin panel but cannot make changes; they can, however, leave comments. Contributors can create new posts but cannot publish them without your approval. Authors are permitted to publish posts and pages in real time. Administrators can make major changes to your blog, such as installing themes and configuring plug-ins, even without your permission.
5. Click 'Save Changes' near the bottom of the page.
6. Direct your potential subscribers to 'http://yourdomain.com/wp-login.php?action=register.' This is the default URL for your registration page. Be sure to replace 'yourdomain.com' with the domain name of your Wordpress website.