How To Set Up a Free Wordpress.com Blog For Novice

As discussed in a previous article, there are so many free blogging platforms out there, where you can go an get your ideas online in no time. I had already discussed the nine (9) most popular, of these free blogging platforms. And as you would know already, out of the nine (9) discuss, there are still two which are more popular, that is Google’s blogspot, and wordpress.com. These two tends to occupy the peak of all free blogging platforms.
The immediate preceding guide was how you could easily set up a free blogger.com Website in less than 10 minutes. In fact, that article was the second, and a more easier guide to setting up a blogger.com site. But how about WordPress.com? Here is a detailed step by step guide for setting up a free wordpress.com blog. But before you jump deep into the tutorial, its important for you to decide which is for you; either Blogger.com or Wordpress.com.

• ALSO READ: Blogger.com or Wordpress.com: Which Is For You?

How To Set Up a Free Wordpress.com Blog For Novice

For simplicity and easy of understanding, this guide will be in four (4) separate categories:

1. Category One: Registration
2. Category Two: Theme Activation
3. Category Three: Blog Set Ups
4. Category Four: Hello Word! 

... Let's go blogging with free wordpress.com!!!

Category One: Registration

1. Go to WordPress.com
2. Click on “Sign Up” in the center of the upper (black) menu bar, hello Novice, that's should be easy to see! 
3. Type in your intending blog address, and let WordPress do a simple availability check for you. Hey, that won't take more than seconds! WordPress will provide immediate feedback whether your choice is available or not. If not available, then keep trying until it your URL is available. If available, choose a username and a password, type in your email address, choose your language, and hit next. 
4. Check your e-mail to for the link to complete your registration. Go to your email, click the link, and registration is complete. Your account is now active!
5. Login to your new blog account with your username and password. At this stage, your free wordpress.com website is ready and you can start writing right away, but hold a little. In the upper menu bar, click on Dashboard to proceed to the next category. 

Category Two: Theme Activation

Hope you are already in your Dashboard? 

1. Now, On the left side menu, choose Appearance>>>Themes.
2. Browse the WP theme library for the theme of your choice. Note however, that the wordpress.com theme library is not same with the blogger.com counterpart. There are both free and paid theme here. Pick a theme that look like your envisioned website, hit “Live Preview” just below the screen shot. If you like what you see, choose “Save and Activate” in the upper left corner of your page. It that simple. Remember, you can also type the name of a wordpress.com them you already know in the search box, and if it available and shows up, just hit save, and that's all. 

Category 3: Blog Set Ups

1. In the left hand menu bar, go to Settings>>>General Settings. 
2. At the top, type the name of your website. When people visit your blog this is what they are going to see at the top of your blog page. (can you boldly see Novice Hive up there?) That is what this section means. 
3. Note that the tag line is optional, but I will advice you don't leave it blank. Just write a word or two, on what your blog is all about. For example: it could be "Conservative Mind", "Tech News" etc. Ensure your tag line is in line with your blogging niche. At the bottom of the page, Click “Save".

Category Four: Hello Word!

...Now, let get your first post online

• In the left hand menu bar, go to Posts>>>Add New 
• Enter the title of your post in the box at the top of the page (e.g "Hello World”). To add a link in the body of the post, highlight the content where you want the link to appear, click on the odd-looking chain link thingy in the menu bar above the content window, paste the actual link into the pop-up box, choose “open link in new window,” then click “Add link” at the bottom of this box.
• To avoid losing your article as it has happened to me several times, always ensure to click the “SAVE DRAFT” button, upper right on the page as often as possible.
• You should click the “Preview” button upper right on the page, to proof read your content before publishing to the world. Guess What? I used to feel so lazy doing that, but the question is, if you can not seat and read your own article from beginning to the end, how do you expect others to read them?
• Ready to post? Just Click the “Publish” button upper right on the page, let WordPress.com do it magic, and there you are, your blog is online with it first post. You are now a BLOGGER.