Before you unleash your brilliance on the world, you’ll need to set aside a few minutes to sign up for a blog, adjust your settings, and acquaint yourself with WordPress.com publishing.
For those inclined, here’s a 90-second video walkthrough:
1. Head to WordPress.com and click the orange sign up button:
2. Choose a domain name for your first blog (you can add others later if you like). This is the unique address that people will visit to check out your blog.
3. If that blog address is available, you’ll see a green check mark. You’ll also see the option to purchase a custom domain name (or you can use yourblogname.wordpress.com for free).
If you only want to comment on specific WordPress.com blogs, and do not want your own blog, click “Sign up for just a username.”
4. Next, choose a unique username that will identify you in the WordPress.com community. You’ll use this to log into your blog.
5. Now it’s time to think up a password. Try to make it a little more difficult to guess than “password” or your cat’s name. You’ll need to enter the same password twice, and the little “strength” bar will tell you if you’ve chosen a strong password or not.
6. Next up, add the email address you’d like to associate with your account. Be sure to use your primary email — if you ever forget your WordPress.com account password, you won’t be able to reset it if you can’t access the email account listed here.
7. Now select the language that you’ll be blogging in.
8. Now click the signup button. If you’ve chosen to purchase a custom domain name, you’ll be directed to domain registration and payment next.
9. You’re almost done! Next, head to your inbox, find the signup confirmation email from WordPress.com, and click the blog activation link.
10. That’s it! Now you have your very own WordPress.com blog. Next you’ll be taken to the dashboard, where you can change your site’s settings and start creating content.
