Wordpress can be daunting for beginners.  There are so many options and settings built into Wordpress, even before we start adding plugins and themes which further complicate matters.

Wordpress Essentials is a course that strips Wordpress down to the bare essentials.  You'll learn the stuff you need to know about, while the more technical aspects of Wordpress are left for another day.  

This course will take you by the hand and show you how to buy your domain through a domain registrar, and link it to a separate web host.  This first step is critical, yet so many people starting their first website get it wrong and end up suffering further down the line.

Once the domain is set up, we'll install Wordpress and take a tour around the "Dashboard".  The installation process adds a few "samples" by default, so we'll look at them, and then delete them.

The next section of this course will look at the most important settings inside Wordpress.  Get these right, and you'll be ready to start adding content to your website.  It's easy.  Just follow along, making the changes I suggest.  Where I think it's important, I'll tell you why you are making these changes.  By the end of this section of the course, you will have set up Wordpress like a pro, and be ready to start adding content to the site.

Creating content is what a website is all about.  In this section of the course you'll learn how to use the WYSIWYG content editor inside Wordpress.  With it you can create posts and pages (you'll learn the basic differences between these).  Follow over my shoulder as we create the various "legal" documents you need on your website.  

You'll learn how to add web pages to your site, and how to categorize them to make your site more logical (and helpful) to visitors and search engines.  You'll see how easy it is to add images into the content, and what about adding Youtube videos?

Finally in the Creating Content section we'll discuss the homepage.  Wordpress likes to show recent posts as the homepage, but I'll show you a better option.  By the end of this section, you should have a website up and running.

The final section of this course will cover important topics that every Wordpress website owner should know about.  We'll look at how the commenting system works, so visitors can leave feedback on your webpages.  You'll learn to change the look and feel of your site with Themes, and extend the features of Wordpress using plugins.  Will finish off this section by looking at widgets, and the widgetized areas on your website. 
With this course you will learn:

•  Wordpress terminology on an as needed basis. There glossary can be referred to at any time. 
• The differences between the free Wordpress service, and the self-hosting Wordpress script.
• All about web hosting and domain registrars and why you should not use your web host as your domain registrar. Don't worry, I'll tell you how to set all of this up.  It's really easy.
• About the important settings inside the dashboard.
• The best format for your permalinks.
• Which discussion settings need to be changed.
• How to optimize your reading settings.
• How to quickly install a default set of "update services" so that new content on your site is quickly spidered and indexed by the search engines. 
• About the sitemap, and how to set one up so that it is automatically updated every time you post new content to your website.  
• How to use the WYSIWYG editor for posts and pages.
• How to setup the important pages, like disclaimers and privacy policy.
• How to use menus to create awesome navigation systems on your site that visitors will find intuitive, and search engines will use to spider your content.
• How to use post categories effectively.
• How to insert images into your posts.
• How to insert Youtube videos into your posts.
• How to setup two different types of homepage.  Firstly you can use a static homepage which will display an "article" of your choosing.  Secondly you can setup more of a blog homepage so that new posts are listed on the main body of the homepage.
• How to deal with visitor comments, and why you must manually approve them.
• How to install a Wordpress theme, and change it.  Changing a theme is like applying a new skin to your website.  Themes completely control the look and style of your website.
• How to install plugins to extend the features and functionality of your website.
• How to insert widgets into various areas on your web pages.
• How to create a fully working website in as little as two hours.

By the end of this course, you will have all of the basic knowledge you need to build a great looking website.  You'll also have a fantastic foundation if you want to go on to become a Wordpress guru by taking further classes on the subject.