Chapter 7 – The Final Steps of the WordPress Setup Process

As I mentioned in my previous article about using Dreamhost one-click installs to setup your blog, you will need to receive a confirmation email from Dreamhost to let you know the blog installation has been completed.

Once you have received this email you will want to open it and click on the link provided to finalize your new WordPress installation.

When you click the link in the email from Dreamhost it will take you to the blog “Setup” screen.

The first screen will ask you the name of your blog and an email address you would like associated with it.

Chances are you have already setup a name that you used with the domain you created for the new blog. Type the name in as you would like it to be displayed on your blog.

For example:

makemoneylife.com

I would type in as: Make Money Life. This way it’s easier for people to read.

Most WordPress themes will also display this name at the top of your blog, so that is where I get a little additional keyword bonus from the considerations I made when creating a name for my site.

The next thing you need to enter is an email address that will be associated with the blog.

• If you do not want to use your personal email address I recommend reading my article on “How to Setup a Professional Looking Email for your Domain”.

Once you have the required information filled out click the next button. This will take you to a setup screen that displays the login and password for admin on your blog.

I would recommend doing three things here.

01. First write down the information on the screen so you have a backup of it incase you forget it.

02. Then hit the “Print Screen” (PrtScn) button on your keyboard. (It is usually located near the “Backspace”, “Insert”, and “F12” keys on most keyboards. Once you have done this click the “Start” menu and select “Run”.

Type: MSPAINT and hit enter.

This will open MS Paint. Now click “Edit” > “Paste” and you will have a screenshot of the login information that was displayed for you incase you forget it. Click “File” > “Save” and save the screenshot somewhere on your computer or back up drive for safekeeping.

03. Once you have written down your login information, highlight the password with your mouse, and “right click” to bring up the options menu. Select “Copy” from the options menu and then go ahead and click the “Log In” button.

When you click “Login” it will take you to the WordPress admin login screen for your new site. Type in “admin” for your username and then “right click” in the password field and select “Paste” from the menu.

Once you have done this click the “Log in” button. You will now log into your new blog for the first time.

Create a New User Account

I recommend creating a new user account right away so it is easy to login next time.

01. To do this, go to: “Users” (located in the upper right-hand corner of the screen).

02. In the “Users” screen you will see a section of fields labeled “Add New User”.

Choose a username you would like for logging into the site. The user name is case sensitive so if you choose Paul or paul, they are considered two different logins. Be sure to make a mental note if you used capital letters or not.

Once you have your username you need to enter your first and last name. I usually enter Paul and the first letter of my last name. This doesn’t need to be extremely official.

Then it will ask for an email address. I recommend using the one you setup above for your blog. For mine it was paul@makemoneylife.com.

Then it asks for your “Website”. You can leave this blank or you can enter the address of your blog. I usually add the address just because I always like to make use of promotional mechanisms on sites.

Now you will want to create a password that is easy to remember. Type it in twice to confirm your new password.

Then from the “role” drop down menu I would suggest setting yourself up as “Administrator”. You can choose other options but you want to make sure that you have full control over your site.

The other options are useful for when you are setting up an account for a friend or partner on the site and you want to allow them to be an author, without administrator rights to the blog.

Now that you have setup the final options for your blog and created a new user account so it will be easy to login, you are ready to get started learning the ins and outs of WordPress. Click the link below to get started with my guide Options and Menus Available in a WordPress Blog.