Easy Steps to Blogging Stardom - How To Make Money Blogging

Build Your Own Sizzling WordPress Blog – Web 2.0 ready

Step 1: Install Wordpress Blog Software

Download and install latest version of Wordpress (Version 2.2.1 at the time of writing). Use installation instructions available here – no need to duplicate the efforts on my end, when original documentation is very well written.

Step 2: Download and Install Wordpress Theme That Is Web 2.0 Ready

Wordpress has perhaps some of the biggest number of themes available to its users but our goal here is to choose one that will become the backbone of our web 2.0 portal. I know there are lots of opinions when it comes to this topic but I will base it on my own experience as Webmaster and end user. So in choosing a theme I recommend to follow a few simple guidelines, whether you do or not is your choice. I will list parameters as required for Web 2.0 portal and optional.

1. Widgets Ready – required. This one is a must. Widgets add so many options to make your portal truly interactive that choosing a theme that don’t support it is simply foolish, unless you can modify the theme and make it widgets ready yourself.
2. Right Sidebar – optional. I prefer right sidebar mainly due to SEO considerations. Search engine bots don’t read page same way as we do and simply see text. What kind of text they see first is going to greatly impact how well your page will rank in search results. Right Sidebar themes tend to place actual content of your posts and pages BEFORE any navigation links, external links in widgets, etc and as such are a better choice.
3. 3 Columns – optional. I personally prefer this type of layout as it allows you to provide as much interactivity and monetization options as possible without creating a clatter on your site.
4. AdSense Ready – absolutely optional. And the only reason I mention this option is due to so many bloggers relying on AdSense as source of income. If you do decide to go with this option – I have an article that covers my research in this area right here. You can also see review of 17 AdSense Ready Themes for Wordpress here.

Later in this article I will discuss a plugin that easily replaces this functionality and gives you more options when choosing your theme.

You can find plenty of different themes at the official Wordpress theme viewer site. You can preview each one and see if it’s pleasing your sense of what your site should look like. Use the search options based on my guidelines and your preferences.

 to read more ...