WordPress is very good at managing instant changes (that’s is what it does), but while you are getting to grips with the system if you are a newbie or if you don’t want the world to see your work before it’s complete you might want to do what I do. That is to build a WordPress site on your PC or Notebook so you can experiment yo your hearts content.

I’ll outline the basic and advanced tools that you will find invaluable.  Use the links to learn more details and tips & hints to get you up and running very quickly.

Wamp. For WordPress to run it requires a web server, PHP and a database. These 3 components are beautifully wrapped up in a self configuring installation of WAMP Server. If you don’t already have any of these already running on your PC then head over to WAMP.org and download the latest kit now.  more…

WordPress.  Now you have the framework in which to run WordPress all you need to do now is download the latest version from WordPress.org. Setting up a local web site running WordPress is a doddle. more…

Firefox. Firefox and some specially chosen add-ons will help you design and decode styles in a page (FireBug) and allow you to upload your files to your designated live server (FireFTP). more…

Once all these tools are in place on your PC you should have a WordPress site up and running on your PC in less than 20 minutes.

Setting up your first local WordPress site is as simple as following these 5 steps, some of which you might have already done:-

Download, install and start WAMP server. more…
Create a website folder on your local PC. more…
Download WordPress to your local web site. more…
Create a database for your site. more…
Configure WordPress (3 minutes). more…

Now you will have a full WordPress web site running on your local PC.  But before you go crazy and start adding content there are a few settings you should be aware of that will make your site that little bit more special (and you really should watch our for on your live site). more…

OK. Now you have your site up and running, but if you’ve never administered a WordPress site before, the Administrators Dashboard might be a little bit daunting. Take a few minutes to work through this next tutorial which will show you the more important parts of the Dashboard.  Once you’ve gained some confidence in navigating around the Dashboard (and it’s really quite easy nce you’ve had some hands-on experience) you can get started adding some content to your site and maybe change the style.  One step at at time though.

The Administrators Dashboard. more…

Now you’ve had a play with your brand new WordPress web site you’ll need to decide how to customise it and how it will be used and maintained.  Here are some tips on the sort of questions you should be asking yourself in order to create a WordPress web site that you will be proud of and your visitors enjoy. more…

• 1 free domain name registration (you choose name) with .co.uk or .org.uk extension. [Other domain types, i.e .com, may require a small additional registration fee].
• We can host multiple domain names to the same web site, so we can setup www. yourname.co.uk and www.yourname.com to be the same website.
• Free domain name transfer out (you’re not locked in: switching in the future is easy and you won’t lose your domain name).
• Unlimited changes to the site content for the first year (providing the changes are reasonable; i.e. not a re-design).
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• Addition of Emails when necessary.
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We at Pod77 put your needs first because we understand that you don’t necessarily have enough hours in the day to design a web site when you have a business to run but you do need to find and keep customers.
Your web site might well be the way customers find you and how existing customers will get information about you: even if it’s your phone number, your Email address or your opening times. Don’t make this a hurdle by not having an up-to-date web site, or even not having a web site.
First impressions count. If a visitor to your web site finds incorrect or out-of-date information it will reflect on your reputation. That visitor might just move onto the next link and use your competitor.
We aim to minimise these issues by giving you a clean and easy to use web site that is easily updatable.