WordPress for Dummies Review – 4 Stars

This is actually the book I wish I had been there when I first started out with blogs and especially WordPress. WordPress For Dummies For Dummies by Lisa Sabin-Wilson was just published last month, but I sure wish it has been published early. Like most blogging books, a couple of chapters up front are spent addressing what blogs are and what they, and WordPress in particular, can do for you. After that the bulk of the book is center on going through how to set up a WordPress.com account or how to install the WordPress.org software (single or multi-user) on your own site. While most of this information can be found on the web, having this book beside you would make the task so much easier. So, if you don’t have everything set up yet, go out now and get this book. It will save you a ton of heartache.

If you already have your blog all set up and in use, most of the book is of far less use to you. I find myself in that category. The two parts then that I could really get my teeth into are the section on theme customization with an explanation of many of the variables, and the second detailing the author’s top ten plug-ins. I found some items there that I had somehow overlooked before and are coming in quite handy. Those two sections really were worth the price of the book for me.

So, why the 4 star rating? Well, if you are just starting out, you really need this book. Pick it up before you start. For you it will be a great companion and time saver and will deserve a 5 star rating. But, if you have been doing this for a while, there will only be a couple of chapters of real value to you. so it will most likely be a 3 star. Average them together and what do you have? 4 stars!