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I'm starting to build a website for a campus organization, and WordPress for Dummies has helped me know what needs to be done and how to do it. It's step-by-step instructions are a boon when you're doing your own webmastering!

When I first thought about moving to self-hosting and using Wordpress.org, I also thought a plugin was what connected my laptop to the wall.

I bought Wordpress For Dummies specifically because I wanted guidance on moving to Wordpress.org platform for self-hosting. This meant that the first part of the book (about Wordpress.com, how to start blogging, etc.) was largely ignored, but the part I needed was superb and well worth the cost of the entire book.

For a detailed story on how this book helped me make my move to Wordpress.org, see my blog post at http://shesgotbaggage.net/2008/10/done-woo/

Overall, I am very happy with this book. It gives great step-by-step instructions and wonderful recommendations for places to find themes, plugins, FTP, and so on, all of which have worked very well for me. If you need help getting set up with self-hosting and you want to use the Wordpress.org platform (which I also HIGHLY recommend for its functionality), Wordpress for dummies will get you there quickly and painlessly.

Rebekah
http://shesgotbaggage.net

Wordpress is not really an easy to use platform for people who know little to nothing about php or code. So, I got this book to get some help with the more complicated aspects of wordpress. To my amazement, this book does not shed any light on things like 1.) how to redirect a domain name I already own to my wordpress domain name 2.) How to change the code directly in the wordpress stylsheet to adjust my theme 3.) How to correct 404 errors etc.., the list goes on. This book focuses on the things you can figure out for yourself! I don't need to know how to edit a post, that's fairly intuitive. I needed this book to help me with the meat and potatoes of the wordpress platform and this book failed miserably at that. In addition, it's jumbled and hard to follow. Listen, don't waste your money, just google for helpful hints.

This is a good book if you have never used WordPress before. Not much info for advanced use.

I am a systems administrator with a good technical level and I have bought this book because it was well rated at Amazon.

Don't let the title of this book (... for Dummies) confuse you. I had no real experience in working with CMS's and after reading this book I can say I have now a good starting knowledge level for working with WordPress.

In this book you will find a description of Wordpress template system, including how the PHP code and WordPress API works. Also, the book is written by a person with a strong experience in real life web design and she gives advices (interesting plugins and themes, by example) of a great value for a person with no previous knowledge of the product.

This book has been the starting point for my journey on blogging. It is an excellent book. The layout is easy to follow and it gives all the information you need. Great for a beginner like me. Most impressed.

The material available at Wordpress after you install it is much clear than this Dummies book. I got the feeling the author threw it together without considering the needs of the reader.

Worthwhile book, plenty of content in a single title. If your really new to Wordpress, this is the book for you. If your not in a hurry, wait for the new edition coming out in Fall of 08.

I am not a techie. I do not want to be a techie. I've worked with computers all my adult life, but I've never fallen in love with the beasties. If somebody gave me a "do it to it" button that just made things work without all the heavy lifting, I'd be a happy camper. However, WordPress for Dummies is by techies, for techies. Ms. Sabin-Wilson dumps a lot of information on the table and says, "Here you go!" as if the pile of rubble you see before you is immediately comprehensible. Her explanations tend to be circular and presented in techie-speak. I use WordPress, and I had hoped this book would answer questions as they came up. No such luck--at least if you want a direct answer to a specific question.

Kudos to Lisa-Sabin Wilson for an excellent training manual on
WordPress. From blogging basics to typing templates, the author
provides practical,clear guidance. Thoughtful organizing of the instructional material into three distinct units: WP Hosted Service,
Self-Hosting with WordPress.org and Implementing WP for Multi Users,
allows readers to dive directly into the information best suited
for their particular blogging setup.

Catherine Eujon
[...]

This book was very helpful in figuring out how Wordpress works and what you can do with it. I was very happy to find useful examples and explanations of the inner workings of the software. I especially recommend the section on using Wordpress as a content management system.

I recommend this book as a way to get started and a place to go when you get confused over blog specific lingo and the like.

i have dozens of wp sites and bought this book for one of my bloggers. it is a very useful 'how-to' companion for anyone working with wordpress and blogs.

I bought WordPress for Dummies a few weeks ago. I have been very impressed so far (I'm more than halfway through the book). Lisa explains why you need to do certain things and points out situations where you need to be careful before changing parameters. The book is broken down into easily digestible chapters and is easy to read and comprehend. If you are new to Wordpress and need help, I'd highly recommend this book.

Whether you're new to blogging or a pro, the platform you choose matters. WordPress is the present and future of blogging. Of course Web 2.0 is a buz-phrase these days, but WordPress is on the cutting edge of incorporating the most promising features of the latest web technologies. Lisa Sabin-Wilson's WordPress for Dummies provides the single-best start to a whole new way to blog yourself through the 21st century.

If you're intimidated by the idea of starting WordPress, let these items ease your concerns:

Everything you need to get started with a WordPress blog is included cover to cover;

- You don't need to know HTML or CSS but you'll be inspired to learn;

- The book tells you how to distinguish your blog;

- Simple lists are provided for finding key features of WordPress;

- Resources for expanding your blog's potential are included throughout the book;

When Sabin-Wilson says that you can set up your own hosted WordPress blog in minutes, she's not kidding. She gives you the big picture,and then pixelates that picture with important details.

And don't worry about updates since those can be found on the author's blog or publisher's Dummies site. You need a resource now and this one will serve your needs.

Once you're set up, you'll be so educated about WordPress that you'll not only be blogging on the most democratic platform but also involved with one of the most friendly, intelligent and devoted open source communities in the world. Soon you'll be customizing your blog to the bliss you'll be following for the rest of your life.

Not sure where to start blogging? Stuck fiddling around with your blog's limitations? Interested in improving the world through a remarkable blogging platform? Then do yourself a big favor and invest in WordPress for Dummies.

The two books :
WordPress Complete by Hasin Hayder
and
WordPress for Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson
are worthwhile sources for the individual that lacks the expertise to setup the WordPress program. Now don't misunderstand what I say next. If you are a complete novice, get the books. Be fully aware that both books will NOT be sufficient to reach normal insanity while getting WordPress setup, if you're requirements go beyond the norm. Am familiar to Blogging and a bit aware of WordPress usage, but it became a total nightmare to reach the results that I was looking for. Seriously lacking are examples of "how and where" to actually insert / place what was being expounded upon. Seemed that every set of "how to" was chopped off at the most critical point and leaves one floundering and frustrated, Both books and even the official sites lack the explicit "where to insert" the talked on code. Many so called experts suffer from the "I know it so well" syndrome" that they overlook the "critical" aspect from a novices point of view. To have elaborated on a specific subject, without giving the most crucial bit of information "showing an example of where" is, to me a cardinal offense. It is recognized that it is near impossible to cover every detail required for total success with an installation, but what is covered, SHOULD be presented with clear and full details. There is no middle ground here. You are either sailing along smoothly, or you are floundering from lack of crucial details. I was in the latter group. WordPress by the way is a neat program, and for most users, will be relatively easy to master. If you have certain specific needs, be prepared to sweat it through, along with much aggravation.

I'm an amateur trying to use Wordpress to get my family weblog looking and behaving in accordance with my vision for it. I've taught myself a little html/css/php/etc but was hitting a wall with the wp codex and I hoped this book would get me over. Well, I didn't learn much besides what is easily picked up in scanning the codex howto. This book was a bit too superficial for my needs. What I would really like is someone to step through the code line by line, explaining what calls are being made and why and how they can be manipulated. This is too difficult for me to follow just looking at the wp files themselves. And that is not the audience for this book. So, my fault for buying this book, erroneously thinking that it would not in fact live up to its title.

Let me start by saying that I've forever avoided the "Dummies" series because I hate the title and the implicit putdown it conveys toward anyone learning a new subject. I bought this title only because I couldn't find many other comprehensive beginner's guides on WordPress, and it also looked like it had the most up-to-date information (important in this rapidly changing field).

I was pleasantly surprised. Lisa Sabin-Wilson knows her stuff, she writes well, and the advice is practical and easy to follow. The book uses a logical progression, teaching us step-by-step what WordPress is, what it can do, and where you can go to find further resources. Sections address important topics such as plugins, self-hosting, theme selection and development, migrating your blog from another site, and much more.

I was mostly looking for a guide on using WordPress as a website content management system (CMS), and although one chapter does address this, I wish the book had covered this in more depth. Also, I would have liked to read more about design and style issues. However, no one book can do it all, and at almost 400 pages this book was long enough. (Although it's a very quick read; it took me only one morning to get through it, and not all chapters will be relevant to every reader.)

I highly recommend it to anyone wanting to gain basic familiarity with WordPress (and related technical jargon), see whether it's the thing for you and, if so, get started using it.

I thought this would be a good book for me, as I know some basic html, and have written my own simple web pages. But I'm no code jockey.

But for a 384 page book about a software program for blogging, there are precisely two pages about formatting the text and appearance of posts made in Wordpress. This seems to me to be the core of the blogging experience for most writers. I just want to create nice looking posts, with text and images. The program itself provides very few tools, and also strips out attempts to use code to do simple things like add paragraph breaks or tab indents, or change font sizes. It would be helpful if this book included the secret to making these simple formatting changes.

Most of the chapters seem to follow this theme, of giving just a superficial introduction to where to access a function in the program, with little additional info beyond what is right there on the computer screen.

But lots about Multi User Wordpress. I was hoping for something that would help me get started blogging right away, and make something that looks good.

A real dissappointment.

This book helped me get a professional quality WordPress blog up and running without any pain. I probably could have figured out most of what I would have needed to know myself. However, this book gave me some basic information and concepts so that I had the confidence to jump in and to do it easily. I set my blog up on my own hosted server. The book gave step-by-step instructions for uploading WordPress software and configuring it so that it worked immediately. I was able to find a free theme and customize it to my specific needs with a minimal knowledge of HTML, CSS and PHP. (Not a deficiency of the book, but WordPress is not yet an ideal environment to create a non-blog web site. This is my next task and I'd love to find a product as easy to use as WordPress, which would allow me to do it.) I am glad that I purchased this book; it was worth the money.

This guide book is well written easy to understand even for a non techie. The layout allows the reader to follow the information and accomplish the tasks at hand simply and directly. Wordpress is a great program and this book allows the reader to take advantage of them.

I waited so long for WordPress For Dummies, by Lisa Sabin-Wilson, and it was well worth the wait. I had been wanting to learn Wordpress and had been a fan of Lisa's blog so it was just what I needed as a motivator.

It's a "Dummies" book so it's got that easy to use format. And it's a reference book so most of it is not meant to be read linearly. If you've always wanted to set up a blog or switch to WordPress this is the way to go. It explains it from the basics up to the advanced. It's step by step and it'll get you running on your own host or at [...] with ease.

It covers Migrating to WP, 10 Great Free Themes, Ten Great Plugins, Using WP as a Content Management System, Understanding Templates and Plug-ins. It covers pretty much everything you need to know but those are the chapters I've read the most and use for reference. If you don't know anything about PHP you'll painlessly learn the bits that you do need to know for modifying templates (this is optional) and you'll have picked up enough for when you want to use PHP for other "web stuff".

As I'm writing this post, I'm flipping through the book seeing if there is anything I've missed mentioning. There are so many areas of WP that I haven't explored yet, I've read about them in the book and I can't wait to try out some of the other features!

Just about everything I've needed to know was in there, the only thing that I couldn't find was detailed info on custom-fields which was (probably) considered too advanced for a Dummies book.

There are 3 different flavors of WordPress (they host, you host, and multi-user) and they all share multiple features so just pay attention to which flavor she's talking about and you'll be fine.

It's an awesome book! If you want to set up your own blog, self-hosted or not, WordPress is easy to use and WordPress For Dummies is the book to use. And since WP just significantly increased the amount of free-space for the "they host" option free just got better!

I've found that the Dummies book run the gamut from very, very bad to very, very good. I am pleased to report that "WordPress for Dummies" by Lisa Sabin-Wilson is very, very good.

This book will be useful to novice WordPress users (like myself) through, I suspect, intermediate users.

The first part is a tad on the slow side as Sabin-Wilson reviews the true basics. But she is trying to cover a good part of the waterfront here, helping truly inexperienced users as well as those who may have used Blogger, MovableType or other blogging platforms.

By Chapter 3, though, Sabin-Wilson begins to hit her stride, delving deeper into the hosted version of WordPress, examining its details.

With Chapter 6, she begins transitioning into a surprisingly comprehensive exploration of WordPress. Chapter 9, about altering PHP templates, is a model of clarity that all technical writers could benefit from studying. It is concise and clear, while handling some very sophisticated subjects.

By the time Sabin-Wilson gets to Chapter 16 ("Beyond Blogging: WordPress as a Content Management System"), the reader is comfortable with this advanced subject.

Overall, she does a truly fine job of introducing the reader to WordPress, how it operates, how it can be modified and expanded. Her language is always remarkably clear and her focus intense. This is one of those essentially technical books that is actually a pleasure to read. Keep it at your side while you explore WordPress, either hosted on your own or the WordPress site, and you'll become highly proficient in a surprisingly short time.

Jerry

This had all the info I was looking for as a beginning WordPress blogger who has a good computer background but didn't know this program yet. Well-written and organized, with pointers for finding additional resources as needed. Recommended.

Covers all the bases .... function by function ... would have liked more on the detailed how to on plug-ins ....

This is a great introduction to WordPress. I've set over a dozen clients up with WordPress in the last three years and as simple as WordPress is to administer, they still need hand holding. Before this there has not been a book on WordPress that I could comfortably recommend.

WordPress for Dummies assumes no blogging or technical background and does a good job of explaining the basics. It is not a developer's manual so if you need detailed instructions on writing your own modules or hacking WP, look elsewhere. But that's what I expect from Dummies books.

I appreciated that Sabin-Wilson covered the three versions of WordPress in order of increasing complexity. For the non-technical the hosted version of WordPress is a great place to begin. For those needing more there are the install-it-yourself versions. I didn't notice any mention of hosting companies that offer 1 click installs of the regular version WordPress, which is pretty common. That's about the only quibble I have with the book. I even learned about the multi-user version of WP, something I had only a fuzzy awareness of.

I'd easily recommend WordPress for Dummies to anybody who needs to run blog or to budding web designers who would like to expend their toolkit.

This is actually the book I wish I had been there when I first started out with blogs and especially WordPress. A lot of time is spent addressing what blogs are and what they can do and then going through how to set up a WordPress.com account or how to install the WordPress.org software on your own site. Most of the book is really set up and functionality. While most of this information can be found on the web, having this book beside you would make the task so much easier. If you already have your blog all set up and in use, most of the book is of far less use to you. I find myself in that category since I run a number of person blogs, a couple of corporate WordPress sites, and have installed the software a number of times. The two parts then that I could really get my teeth into are the section on theme customization with an explanation of many of the variables, and the second detailing the author's top ten plug-ins. I found some items there that I had somehow overlooked before and are coming in quite handy.

So, why the 4 star rating? If you are just starting out, you really need this book. Pick it up before you start. And for you it will stay with you for a while and be a 5 star. If you have been doing this for a while, there will only be a couple of chapters of real value to you, so it will most likely be a 3 star. Average them together and what do you have? 4 stars!

I received my copy of WordPress for Dummies recently, and I sat right down to devour it. I wish I'd had it when I decided to take the plunge and begin the WordPress self-hosted blog that is now iPentimento, but this book is going to be my blogging bible from now on.

Lisa Sabin-Wilson has put together an excellent book that targets both the WordPress.com community as well as those of us in the WordPress.org category. The first page in the book is a very handy cheat sheet that includes the WordPress.org Administration panel, where to find Community Support for WP multi-users, the self-hosted users, multiple users implementing WordPress MU, and the WordPress repository for overall use of the program in the codex. This cheat sheet also includes where to find blog designers, free themes and plugins.

Just a quick glance at the contents will show the following:

* An introduction to WordPress - What it can do for you

* Using the WordPress Hosted Service - Getting started, writing and managing your blog, as well as enhancing your blog with Themes, Widgets and Upgrades.

* Hosting your blog using WordPress.org - Design and implementation

* Implementing a multi-user blog with WordPress MU - Managing your community

* How migrate your current blog to WordPress - Typepad, WordPress.com, etc.

As the front cover tells us, this book is "A reference for the rest of us". It truly is! I have already marked several sections so I can go back and explore them further. Just because you have a WordPress blog doesn't mean you immediately know how to make it work. Lisa explains how to make sure the search engines can find your posts, how to manage your categories, which plugins to use to eliminate spam, and more. Much more.WordPress For Dummies (For Dummies (Computer/Tech))

[...]

I'm not a newbie when it comes to blogging. For the most part, I've used Movabletype, ExpressionEngine, and Textpattern, but I haven't had much experience with Wordpress. With that said, installing and navigating the Wordpress Admin Panel is pretty self explanatory to me. Finding and installing themes and plugins is nothing for me as well. What I was hoping to get out of this book, more than anything else, was a better understanding of developing themes and plugins. While the book does briefly cover developing your own theme, it just about contains absolutely *no* information on developing plugins. Plugins, like themes, are such an intricate part of Wordpress, and one of the main reason it's so popular. How could something like this be left out? I know that detailed information is given on how to find and install plugins, but again, that's elementary to me. Even when I do install a plugin, what if I want to edit a few things in the source code? One would think that this information would be found in chapter 10 (Making the Most of WordPress Plugins) or in Part 5 (Flexing and Extending WordPress) - chapter 16 (Beyond Blogging: Wordpress as a Content Management System), but it's not.

I would say that this book would be great for blog newbies, and the non-technical minded (people who will mostly download and make tweak others work), but people who like to delve under the hood and really get their hands dirty may be somewhat disappointed.

I've been working on and off with WordPress for years, but have never had the patience to dig deeper than I needed to. I've always wanted to learn more and when I got my copy, I tore into it, looking up all the things I've always wanted to know. Now I keep it on my desk and have referenced it several times already. Lisa gets it right with this book by providing so much information on all varieties of WordPress yet keeps it from being overly complicated. A staple for any WordPress novice and handy for those of us who just need a little refresher now and again.

Prior to Wordpress for Dummies being published, the other Wordpress books out there were very limited or not extensively covered. For those of you who have tried to use Wordpress before, I know the Wordpress Codex or documentation may seem overwhelming due to its extensive coverage. This book does a great job of really giving you the ins and outs of Wordpress. The author tries to cover the most important features of Wordpress without trying to overwhelm the readers and does a very good job of it. I really liked the part about the author covering the MU feature of Wordpress as well as covering the common used template tags in addition making the templates, 'the loop' and template files easy to understand for beginners. If you are already proficient with CSS/XHTML and want to take your blog/sites to the next level, this book is for you. However, this book does NOT teach you CSS/XHTML (does provide other resources in the book) so I would suggest you pick up another book for that. If you want to know about WP and blogging in general, this book is for you.