In part 1 of how to set-up WordPress, we walked through the Settings menu and adjusted the default settings. Now we’ll dive into a few other areas and complete the base set-up.
Again, we’ll return to the Settings menu of the WordPress administrative console. If you need a refresher on how to login and get there, review the How to set-up WordPress part 1 article.
Ping Services
By default, each time your publish a new post on your blog WordPress notifies any web sites listed in the Settings>>Writing>>Updates Services section. By default, there is only one listed: http://rpc.pingomatic.com/. To increase the exposure of your articles let’s increase that list a bit by setting the Update List to the the following instead:
http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://1470.net/api/ping
http://a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://api.feedster.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/ping
http://api.moreover.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.co.jp/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/ping
http://api.my.yahoo.com/RPC2
http://api.my.yahoo.com/rss/ping
http://audiorpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://bblog.com/ping.php
http://bitacoles.net/notificacio.php
http://bitacoles.net/ping.php
http://bitacoras.net/ping
http://blo.gs/ping.php
http://blog.goo.ne.jp
http://blog.goo.ne.jp/XMLRPC
http://blogbot.dk/io/xml-rpc.php
http://blogdb.jp
http://blogdb.jp/xmlrpc
http://blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://blogmatcher.com/u.php
http://blogoole.com/ping/
http://blogoon.net/ping/
http://blogpeople.net/ping
http://blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1
http://blogsearch.google.ae/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.at/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.be/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.bg/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.ca/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.ch/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.cl/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.cr/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.hu/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.id/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.il/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.in/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.it/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.jp/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.ma/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.nz/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.th/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.uk/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.ve/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.co.za/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.ar/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.au/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.br/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.co/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.do/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.mx/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.my/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.pe/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.sa/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.sg/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.tr/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.tw/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.ua/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.uy/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com.vn/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.com/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.de/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.es/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.fi/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.fr/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.gr/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.hr/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.ie/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.in/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.it/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.jp/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.lt/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.nl/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.pl/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.pt/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.ro/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.ru/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.se/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.sk/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.tw/ping/RPC2
http://blogsearch.google.us/ping/RPC2
http://blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://blogsnow.com/ping
http://blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://blogupdate.org/ping/
http://bulkfeeds.net
http://bulkfeeds.net/rpc
http://catapings.com/ping.php
http://coreblog.org/ping
http://effbot.org/rpc/ping.cgi
http://feedsky.com/api/RPC2
http://fgiasson.com/pings/ping.php
http://hamo-search.com/ping.php
http://holycowdude.com/rpc/ping/
http://imblogs.net/ping/
http://lasermemory.com/lsrpc/
http://mod-pubsub.org
http://mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatt
http://mod-pubsub.org/knapps/blogchatt
http://mod-pubsub.org/ping.php
http://newsblog.jungleboots.org/ping.php
http://newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
http://packetmonster.net/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.amagle.com
http://ping.amagle.com/
http://ping.bitacoras.com
http://ping.bitacoras.com
http://ping.blo.gs
http://ping.blogg.de/
http://ping.bloggers.jp/rpc
http://ping.blogoon.net/
http://ping.blogs.yandex.ru/RPC2
http://ping.cocolog-nifty.com/xmlrpc
http://ping.exblog.jp/xmlrpc
http://ping.fakapster.com/rpc
http://ping.fc2.com/
http://ping.feedburner.com
http://ping.feeds.yahoo.com/RPC2/
http://ping.kutsulog.net/
http://ping.myblog.jp
http://ping.namaan.net/rpc
http://ping.rootblog.com/rpc.php
http://ping.snap.com/ping/RPC2
http://ping.syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://ping.weblogalot.com/rpc.php
http://ping.weblogs.se
http://ping.wordblog.de/
http://pinger.blogflux.com/rpc
http://pingoat.com/
http://pingoat.com/goat/RPC2
http://pingqueue.com/rpc/
http://popdex.com/addsite.php
http://r.hatena.ne.jp/rpc
http://rcs.datashed.net
http://rcs.datashed.net/RPC2
http://rpc.blogbuzzmachine.com/RPC2
http://rpc.bloggerei.de/ping/
http://rpc.blogrolling.com/pinger
http://rpc.britblog.com/
http://rpc.icerocket.com:10080
http://rpc.newsgator.com/
http://rpc.pingomatic.com
http://rpc.reader.livedoor.com/ping
http://rpc.tailrank.com/feedburner/RPC2
http://rpc.technorati.com/rpc/ping
http://rpc.twingly.com
http://rpc.weblogs.com/RPC2
http://rpc.wpkeys.com
http://services.newsgator.com/ngws/xmlrpcping.aspx
http://signup.alerts.msn.com/alerts-PREP/submitPingExtended.doz
http://snipsnap.org/RPC2
http://syndic8.com/xmlrpc.php
http://thingamablog.sourceforge.net/ping.php
http://topicexchange.com
http://topicexchange.com/RPC2
http://trackback.bakeinu.jp/bakeping.php
http://wasalive.com/ping/
http://weblogues.com/ping/
http://weblogues.com/RPC/
http://www.a2b.cc
http://www.a2b.cc/setloc/bp.a2b
http://www.bitacoles.net/ping.php
http://www.blogdigger.com/RPC2
http://www.bloglines.com/ping
http://www.blogoole.com/ping/
http://www.blogoon.net/ping
http://www.blogpeople.net
http://www.blogpeople.net/servlet/weblogUpdates
http://www.blogroots.com
http://www.blogroots.com/tb_populi.blog?id=1
http://www.blogroots.com/tbpopuli.blog?id=1
http://www.blogsdominicanos.com/ping/
http://www.blogshares.com/rpc.php
http://www.blogsnow.com/ping
http://www.blogstreet.com/xrbin/xmlrpc.cgi
http://www.catapings.com/ping.php
http://www.feedsky.com/api/RPC2
http://www.holycowdude.com/rpc/ping/
http://www.imblogs.net/ping/
http://www.lasermemory.com
http://www.lasermemory.com/lsrpc
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/kn_apps/blogchatter/ping.php
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/knapps/blogchatter/ping.php
http://www.mod-pubsub.org/ping.php
http://www.newsisfree.com/RPCCloud
http://www.newsisfree.com/xmlrpctest.php
http://www.octora.com/add_rss.php
http://www.popdex.com
http://www.popdex.com/addsite.php
http://www.snipsnap.org
http://www.snipsnap.org/RPC2
http://www.wasalive.com/ping/
http://www.weblogues.com
http://www.weblogues.com/RPC
http://www.xianguo.com/xmlrpc/ping.php
http://www.zhuaxia.com/rpc/server.php
http://xmlrpc.blogg.de
http://xping.pubsub.com/ping
http://zhuaxia.com/rpc/server.php
http://zing.zingfast.com
Just copy this list, paste it directly into the Update Services field and press Save Changes.
Discussion
The discussion section (Settings>>Discussion) allows you to configure the comment options for you blog. There are many options available here and you can read through them, but the one that I’m going to focus on revolve around whether you want visitors to be able to post comments without you moderating them or if you would rather your comments be moderated before they are posted.
My recommendation is to allow comments to be posted without moderation. In general, most commentators are friendly, helpful and supportive. A very small percentage spam or leave inappropriate comments.
By default, WordPress automatically posts comments without moderation. To change this to moderated comments, in the Before a comment appears section of Settings>>Discussion check the An administrator must always approve the comment option and save your options.
Media Files
Next we need to create and set the proper permissions for WordPress media files. This will allow you to upload and include images in your pages and posts. By default, WordPress stores your uploaded media files in the wp-content/uploads directory. WordPress will create this directory automatically for you but only if it has permissions to do so. I don’t generally recommend making your wp-content directory writable. Additionally most hosting companies don’t default it to writable either. As a result with most hosting companies, the first time you try to upload a media file, you’ll receive an uploads directory doesn’t exist error message. Let’s keep that from occurring by creating the directory manually and setting it’s permissions.
The easiest way to set permissions is to use the FireFox browser and FireFTP as I talked about in detail in my What is FTP? article. Any FTP client will do though. If you prefer not to use FTP, HostGator and most other hosting companies provide a web based file browser in the control panel. For this article, I’ll use FireFTP. To create and properly set permissions on your uploads directory, do the following:
- Start FireFTP by selecting Tools>>FireFTP.
- Connect to your site
- Navigate to the main directory for WordPress. If your blog isn’t installed in a sub-directory, this will be your root web directory. Generally this will be httpdocs or public_html. Highlight wp-content in the directory tree view for your server.
- In the file pane (the right most pane), right click your mouse and choose Create Directory from the pop-up menu.
- Type uploads for the directory name and press enter or return.
- You should see that an uploads directory now exists.
- Right click on the uploads directory and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. The properties dialog will appear.
- In the Manual field, enter: 0755. This cryptic number will set the uploads folder to the proper permissions (trust me).
- Press the OK button to save your permissions and you’re good to go.
Cleanup Default Settings
WordPress comes with a few things pre-configured that need to cleaned-up. Let’s go ahead and do a few of those now:
Remove the Hello World Default Post
When WordPress is installed it automatically creates 1 post for you. If you visit your blogs URL (or domain name), you’ll see it: Hello World. Let’s go ahead and delete it so we won’t forget and also keep Google from indexing it. Nothing screams unprofessional/n00b blogger like having a Hello World post indexed in Google (not that I’ve ever done that of course…). To delete it, do the following:
- From the WordPress admin console, Click on the Posts menu. WordPress will display a listing of all posts. There should be only one: Hello World. If you have already written other posts, that’s okay.
- Hover your mouse over the Hello World post and you’ll see a list of available options appear below the Hello World post.
- Click on Trash. The Hello World post is now deleted.
Remove the default About Page
WordPress also installs a default About page. We’re going to create a really rockin’ one here soon, so for now let’s delete the one that’s there. To delete the default About page, do the following:
- From the WordPress admin console, Click on the Pages menu. WordPress will display a listing of all pages. There should be only one: About. If you have already created other pages, again no problem, just ignore them.
- Just like we did with the Hello World post, Hover your mouse over the About page and you’ll see that now familiar options menu appear.
- Click on Trash. The About page is now removed.
Remove the default Blogroll
I won’t go into a great deal of detail right now about the WordPress blogroll, but suffice it to say it’s a way of maintaining and sharing a list of other blogs and websites you read or like with your readers. By default, WordPress has a few sites listed in the blogroll which you probably don’t want listed in yours so we’ll need to remove those. Here’s how:
- From the WordPress admin console, click on the Links menu. Similar to the Posts and Pages menu, WordPress will display a listing of all of your blogroll entries.
- Removing the blog roll entries will show you how to remove multiple items at once instead of just one at a time like we did with Pages and Posts. We want to remove all of the current blogroll entries, so click on the check box in the header next to the where it says Name. This will select all of the blogroll entries. You could have also clicked on the checkbox next to each individual entry as well.
- Now in the Dropdown menu that says Blog Actions, choose Delete.
- Click on the Apply button to the right and your blogroll entries are now removed.
We’ll circle back around to blogroll entries further along in this series.
All Done
At this point, your base WordPress settings are complete. You can now begin writing and publishing articles and I’d suggest you do that. We’ll discuss optimal formatting, size, etc soon but go ahead and start writing. You can always come back and edit your articles later.
There are still a few more items to address with your blog set-up, including installing a few base plugins and putting a nice looking WordPress theme on your blog. We’ll discuss those next.
Source of pinglist: Vladimir Prelovac
Article by: Larry Deane
Larry is the founder and editor of Side Income Blogging. He is a full-time IT professional and part-time entrepreneur, writer and software developer. Larry loves teaching and helping others about how they can start and earn money by blogging. Most most importantly, Larry loves spending time with his wife and 6 kids.
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