posted by admin on Jan 17
As any blogger worth their salt knows, WordPress is one of the best pieces of blog software available. It is so powerful, yet so simple to use that it allows virtually anyone to set up a blog. And that is an amazing feat.
Even better, of course, WordPress (which powers this site) is free, and open source.
What this means is that rather than being built by one big money-grabbing corporation (mmm, there’s the hippy in me!) it is constantly evolving and improving thanks to a dedicated community of like-minded programmers and bloggers. It represents, if you like, what the Internet was intended to be.
I just set up a new blog a few days ago and with it I used the latest version of WordPress – version 2.7.
Now, as a long-term user of WordPress I was quite surprised at the changes to the admin panel, but the thing which got my attention the most was the “plugins” area.
For the unitiated, a “plugin” is an extra little piece of software that you can install on a WordPress blog that gives it extra functionality. You can use them to add a contact form, a survey, a discussion forum and so on.
I use quite a few to try and make my blogs as user-friendly as possible so any exciting new plugins get my attention.
Imagine my excitement, therefore, when I discovered a new plugin area in the control panel.
In the old days you would have to search the Internet for a WordPress plugin that does what you want it to – and then you would have to use FTP software to upload it to your webhosting account, unzip it, and then go back into your WordPress control panel to activate it.
Not actually as bad as it sounds, but certainly not a job for the beginner, which is why most WordPress users don’t install and use plugins. This is of course a shame because of all the extra features their readers could be benefitting from if finding and installing plugins was easier.
Thankfully, now it is.
Click on the “Add New” option in the Plugins menu now and you are graced with a wonderful screen which will let you search for plugins to use on your blog.
Once you’ve found one, and downloaded it to your computer, there is a second box which will let you upload and install it on your blog. All this with no technical knowledge required and without leaving the WordPress control panel.
As a WordPress fan, things just seem to keep on getting better. If you’re considering setting up a blog, WordPress 2.7 is definately the software to consider.
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