Sometimes I feel like a dummy.

Fortunately, there is something I can do about that.

I’m a reader.  I learn best by reading about how to do something, and then doing it.  Once I take those two steps, I’ve pretty much got what I needed to understand.  At least, to an extent.

So now that I’m blogging more seriously, and using WordPress as my platform, I needed a resource that would help me understand what I’m doing as well as possible.

I pre-ordered WordPress All-In-One For Dummies.  I placed this order over two months ago on Amazon.com.  After the availability date was pushed back a couple of different times, and I almost forgot that it was coming, it finally arrived at my door yesterday.

I was excited, like a kid on Christmas morning!  I sat down and started reading page one.of almost 900 pages of glorious WordPress information  My wife took one look and me, rolled her eyes, and labeled me as extraordinarily boring.  And I know you probably just did the same thing.

I’m excited about this resource.  I realize that it will be virtually obsolete in a couple of years, maybe even arguably sooner.  But it’s going to be extremely helpful now.  When I understand the things that happen on my blog, under the hood; then later, when this book is no longer current, I’ll have a better handle on the principles at work and can understand what things have changed and why.  At least I hope so.

Here are a few of the topics in WordPress All-In-One For Dummies that I’m looking forward to digging into:

• WordPress Basics.  Even though Standard Theme takes care of a lot of the structure and form, it’s still going to be nice to understand what’s happening.
• Customizing the WordPress Dashboard.  Tentblogger has already given me a few pointers here, but I’m always open to more tips.
• Customizing the configuration file for better security.
• Using WordPress as a Content Management System.
• Understanding SEO and analytics.
• Understanding themes (although again, Standard Theme has this covered for me).
• Understanding plugins, how they work, and how to create my own.
• Running multiple sites on one installation of WordPress.

There is a lot here that I’m pretty excited about. A lot of it isn’t all that applicable to my situation.  For example, much of the second book deals with the installation of WordPress as a self-hosted platform.  I use BlueHost.  This is all accomplished for me by them.  And they are quick to respond to any questions or problems I might have.  Plus, they’re pretty competitively priced.  I highly recommend them.

Another example lies in the information about themes.  I use Standard Theme.  In my opinion, this is the best looking, and one of the best functioning themes out there.  They’ve coded this thing to be extremely fast, and created a great user interface to make tweaking my site to my needs extremely easy.  And the Standard Theme forums are a great place to answer questions or find tips and tricks to make the theme even better.  So while a lot of this information isn’t really necessary for me, it will be very helpful to understand why things work the way they do.

The rest of this book will provide tons of information and help as I strive to make my blog be the very best that I can.  I can’t wait to really dig into this and get going!

Would you benefit from a resource like this?  What other books/resources are must haves for you?  Leave your recommendations in the comments.

If you are interested in reading WordPress All-In-One For Dummies, you can purchase it at Amazon.com.

Disclosure of Material Connection:
Some of the links in the post above are “affiliate links”. This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I will receive an affiliate commission. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will add value to my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.“

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