Blogging: build your own blog using WordPress

What is the course about?

Learn how to create, manage, and promote your own blog using WordPress - the free web-based tool called WordPress.com - and learn how to start blogging effectively. The course will examine some existing blogs and figure out what makes them successful. You will learn the best ways to find blogs on topics that interest you and how to use blogs to express yourself, teach or even promote a product.

This is a beginner’s level course and experience in WordPress is not required, however, you need to have the following computer skills. If you do not have the following skills, please contact us at computing@citylit.ac.uk and we will advise you on a more suitable course.

• Browse the internet using a PC or Mac
• Access your email from any computer
• Able to launch Chrome or Firefox browsers
• Open two tabs on the browser at the same time and navigate back and forward between the browser’s tabs
• Look for information on the Internet
• Create new folders on the desktop
• Download files from the Internet to any specific folder in a computer
• Move files from one folder to another within a computer
• Copy and paste text from one document to another
• Follow written instructions and information from a handout or a website

Note that this class looks at the process of setting up a blog and in using WordPress as a tool to achieve this. If you would prefer to use WordPress to create a website you may wish to look at the City Lit courses Build a website with WordPress in a day, WordPress: introduction or Design your own website using WordPress: for visual artists before choosing a course to attend.

What will we cover?

• Creating a blog using Wordpress.com.
• Personalising your blog by choosing a "Theme"
• Adding "Pages" - web page content and "Posts" - blog entry content to your blog
• Adding a Menu
• Using Categories and Tags - to arrange your content and make it easier to find.

What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...

• Add, edit and delete text content to your blog.
• Add media content (pictures, video, and sound) to your blog
• Link to other content on the web
• Use WordPress Widgets to add more content
• Maintain and monitor your blog.

What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?

This is a beginner’s level course and experience in WordPress is not required, however, you need to have the following computer skills. If you do not have the following skills, please contact us at computing@citylit.ac.uk and we will advise you on a more suitable course.

• Browse the internet using a PC or Mac
• Access your email from any computer
• Able to launch Chrome or Firefox browsers
• Open two tabs on the browser at the same time and navigate back and forward between the browser’s tabs
• Look for information on the Internet
• Create new folders on the desktop
• Download files from the Internet to any specific folder in a computer
• Move files from one folder to another within a computer
• Copy and paste text from one document to another
• Follow written instructions and information from a handout or a website.

How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?

You will be taught step by step through using demonstrations and presentations and by completing practical exercises on Computer. Each student has access to a computer for practical work.
The course is taught using the free hosted service Wordpress.com. Differences between this and self-hosted WordPress sites will be discussed. You will be set homework.

Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?

There are no additional costs. You will need an email account that you can access during the lesson to activate your WordPress.com account.

When I've finished, what course can I do next?

Please click here to view all our Digital marketing and Social media courses or click here to view our web development courses.

Disclaimer: Use of Third-Party Software
This course might require you to either use your own personal account or create an account for the purposes of this course. City Lit cannot accept any responsibility for any failings of the third party or provide technical support. Whilst using the software you will be responsible for abiding by the providers terms and conditions and maintaining your own work.