Getting Started
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I signed up to begin creating a website and chose a theme. First, when I signed up last night I had to choose a blog name that was different from the actual name I wanted for my website since it was already taken. How can I change this down the road? I also chose a theme that I now do not like. How can I change this now? I found a theme (Compass) that I liked on WordPress.org. Is it possible after I play around with creating a website on WordPress.com to upgrade and use this theme?
There are many options and steps and I really want to try to create something on my own before asking for help from other family members.
ThanksThe blog I need help with is: (visible only to logged in users)
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First, when I signed up last night I had to choose a blog name that was different from the actual name I wanted for my website since it was already taken. How can I change this down the road?
Option 1 changing a .wordpress.com address
We cannot edit any blog URLs. If you want to change the .wordpress.com blog address ie. the URL starting with http:// then you must be logged in as Admin under the exact same username account that registered the blog to do that and the URL you desire must be available. If so, then you can change the URL by using the guide http://en.support.wordpress.com/changing-blog-address/Be sure to locate the correct page http://en.support.files.wordpress.com/2011/01/dashboard-e1371648470893.png
Changing a URL is a permanent and irreversible act. No changed or deleted blog URLs are recycled here, regardless of who registered and deleted them and no exceptions are made.
http://en.support.wordpress.com/recycling-blog-names/Option 2 purchase a custom domain
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Option 2 purchase a custom domain
All that changes when you are domain mapping is the URL and nothing else. The content stays exactly where it is. What domain mapping does its create a seamless transfer between the underlying .wordpress.com blog URLs to the domain URLs no matter where they are on the internet. Visitors who click the underlying .wordpress.com blog URLs will be seamlessly redirected to the exact same content under the domain URLs.Please read Domains: Important Notes Before Upgrading http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/
In order to map to a domain one must have an underlying .wordpress.com subdomain blog to map from, and the domain name you desire must be available for purchase, or you must already own the domain URL.
See here if you do not own a domain http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/
See here for mapping an existing domain that you already own http://en.support.wordpress.com/domains/map-existing-domain/
if you already have a website you don’t want to affect, and you want to add a blog to it under a subdomain (for example, blog.yourgroovydomain.com) see here http://support.wordpress.com/domain-mapping/map-subdomain/
After you do the primary blog set up it can take between 24 – 72 hours for domain name propagation to take place throughout the internet. You can view the DNS changes here > http://www.whatsmydns.net/ What’s important during that stage is to be patient.
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How can I change this down the road? I also chose a theme that I now do not like. How can I change this now?
Themes are just “skins” on WordPress.COM hosted blogs. You can quickly and easily change themes on any WordPress.COM hosted blog to another one found here http://wordpress.com/themes/ and no data will be lost or negatively affected by the change. The only time you may have to do some work is if you are changing to a dramatically different theme and have done any CSS editing.
Provided you are logged in as Admin under the same username account that registered the blog go to Dashboard > Appearance > Themes, Browse themes until you find one you like and click the “activate” or the “preview” link, or type in the name of the theme you want to use when it appears.
After you change your theme all you need to do is go here Dashboard > Appearance > Widgets > Inactive Widgets and re-install them where you want them to appear. The widget contents and settings will be the same as they were prior to changing themes.
Note that every theme will have a detailed theme description page with set up instructions and a live demo site page that you can consult. Here’s an example:
https://wordpress.com/themes/twentyfifteen
https://twentyfifteendemo.wordpress.com/ -
I found a theme (Compass) that I liked on WordPress.org. Is it possible after I play around with creating a website on WordPress.com to upgrade and use this theme?
The only themes we can use on WordPress.com hosted blogs are licensed and adapted to run on our multiuser software the themes are found here http://wordpress.com/themes/ and in your dashboard at > Appearance > Themes
There is no FTP access to free hosted WordPress.com blogs for security reasons and we cannot:
upload any third party themes,
create child themes,
create our own themes,
edit templates,
create own own layouts,
or use stylesheets from other themes.See: http://en.support.wordpress.com/themes/adding-new-themes/
There is no upgrade you can purchase here that changes that reality.
To install plugins or third party themes into a site then you have to hire a web host http://wordpress.org/hosting/ and set up your own WordPress.org install. WordPress.org offers free software that you can install on a web server. You can upload and install themes and plugins, run ads, conduct ecommerce and edit the database. Learn about the differences here. http://support.wordpress.com/com-vs-org/
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There are many options and steps and I really want to try to create something on my own before asking for help from other family members.
re: the front page error message found on every new .wordpress.com blog
Nothing Found
It seems we can’t find what you’re looking for. Perhaps searching can help.There is nothing wrong with your site. By default the front page of the blog is the only page that will display all published posts on it. As soon as you publish a post not a page the front page error message and searchbox that appears on every new WordPress.COM blog will be gone. http://en.support.wordpress.com/post-vs-page/
I recommend using the step by step tutorial linked to the bottom of your Admin page https://learn.wordpress.com
See also the “Video Quick Start” tutorial http://en.support.wordpress.com/video-quick-start/
The support documentation is all found at the Support link http://en.support.wordpress.com which is also linked to on the bottom of your Admin page.
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I signed up to begin creating a website
A blog is a website.
A blog is a post based website designed for interactive communication. As the posts are frequently updated and appear on the front page of the site it’s very attractive to search engines.
What most people call a website is merely a page based site that functions as a one way noticeboard. As the structure is page based and as pages are for static content that rarely changes, and as pages do not have RSS feeds, and as others do not backlink to pages, it is not as attractive to search engines as a post based blog structured site is.
Any WordPress blog can be restructured from being post based to being page based – no upgrade required. For greater clarity read > http://en.support.wordpress.com/using-wordpress-to-create-a-website/
Here’s a link to my step by step post too http://onecoolsitebloggingtips.com/2013/07/25/create-a-wordpress-website-step-by-step/
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