Two Things To Know Before Starting A Blog On WordPress.Com

You may be like me and decide to start blogging on WordPress while sitting in front of the TV at about 10 p.m. on a Tuesday. Getting started is super easy, just fill in the blanks starting at the www.WordPress.com login screen.

But, there are two things that you should decide before you start.

1. Choose your username. Your username is your login ID and is used to author your posts. You can’t change it after it is entered, but you CAN change what the public sees. See “fixing your username” below.

2. Choose your blog domain name. Your WordPress blog name (e.g., www.Blogcastgirl.WordPress.com) can’t be changed after you enter it. Think ahead and make sure that you can live with your choice before you login. See “fixing your domain name” for some ideas about what to do when you change your mind.

POSSIBLE FIXES (BUT DO YOUR RESEARCH FIRST)

Fixing Your Username. While your username is permanent once entered, you can change what the outside world sees.

1. Go to “Users” and “Your Profile.”
2. Fill in “First Name, Last Name, and Nick Name.”
3. Move over to the right and “Update Profile.”
4. Then go back into the page and choose “Name to Use Publicly” (below “Nickname”) and choose the username that will appear in the upper right-hand corner of your screen and on all of your posts.

Fixing Your Domain Name. Your WordPress.com domain name is permanent, but here are some ideas for how to change its appearance to the outside world.

1. Upgrade and buy your own domain. WordPress.com allows you to buy your own domain and point it to your free blog. You can even host an email on that domain. For example, I own www.blogcastgirl.com, and I plan to point it at www.blogcastgirl.wordpress.com and set up an email account so that I can send and receive email at dana@blogcastgirl.com. This isn’t completed at this writing, and I’ll tell you how it goes in future posts. Once the process is completed, the outside world will only see my brand, and all of my traffic will go to the site that I own and control. Go to the “Upgrades” menu item and choose “Domains” to pursue this avenue. I also suggest checking out the FAQs that pop-up when you type in “Domain.”
2. Start A New Blog. WordPress.com allows you to have unlimited blogs. So, if your blog’s name doesn’t suit your purposes, start a new one. According to WordPress.com’s FAQs, you can start a new blog and bring over your existing posts. Now, I haven’t done this…something to test later…and there is undoubtedly some fine print. Feel free to let me know your experiences with moving blog content. Here is the BIG problem with this: you might lose some or all of your links and traffic. So, don’t take this action lightly. Get, as the saying goes, professional help.