Whether you’re a budding blogger or web development professional, WordPress is a brilliant tool for creating websites—if you know how to tap its impressive features. This jargon-free Missing Manual shows you how to use WordPress and its themes, plug-ins, and widgets to build just about any website you can imagine, from a classy blog to a basic e-commerce site.

The important stuff you need to know:

Create a blog. Get a free WordPress.com account, choose the right theme, and start publishing content.
Build a website. Produce a professional-looking business site by customizing a WordPress theme.
Add features. Choose from thousands of WordPress widgets and plug-ins to extend your site’s features.
Mix in multimedia. Include slideshows, video clips, webcasts, podcasts, and music players.
Involve your readers. Let readers leave comments, contribute to your site, and carry on a dialog.
Build an audience. Learn search-engine optimization, measure your reader’s favorite pages, and publicize your site.
Create a community. Use social media tools such as “Like” and sharing buttons, and provide RSS feeds of your posts.