Top 10 Benefits of Drinking Water

ADVANTAGES OF DRINKING WATER

Nigerians seems to not be used to the habit of drinking water and that's bad. But water lovers got a jolt recently when we heard that a new report had found that the benefits of drinking water may have been oversold. Apparently, the old suggestion to drink eight glasses a day was nothing more than a guideline, not based on scientific evidence.

"Think of water as a nutrient your body needs that is present in liquids, plain water, and foods. All of these are essential daily to replace the large amounts of water lost each day," says Joan Koelemay, RD, dietitian for the Beverage Institute, an industry group.

Top 10 Benefits of Drinking Water: Don't Medicate, Hydrate!

1. Increases Energy & Relieves Fatigue

Since your brain is mostly water, drinking it helps you think, focus and concentrate better and be more alert. As an added bonus, your energy levels are also boosted!

2. Promotes Weight Loss

Removes by-products of fat, reduces eating intake (by filling up your tummy if consumed prior to meals), reduces hunger (hello natural appetite suppressant!), raises your metabolism and has zero calories!

3. Flushes Out Toxins

Gets rid of waste through sweat and urination which reduces the risk of kidney stones and UTI’s (urinary tract infections).

4. Improves Skin Complexion

Moisturizes your skin, keeps it fresh, soft, glowing and smooth. Gets rid of wrinkles. It’s the best anti-aging treatment around!

5. Maintains Regularity

Aids in digestion as water is essential to digest your food and prevents constipation.

6. Boosts Immune System

A water guzzler is less likely to get sick. And who wouldn’t rather feel healthy the majority of the time? Drinking plenty of water helps fight against flu, cancer and other ailments like heart attacks.
7. Natural Headache Remedy

Helps relieve and prevent headaches (migraines & back pains too!) which are commonly caused by dehydration.

8. Prevents Cramps & Sprains

Proper hydration helps keep joints lubricated and muscles more elastic so joint pain is less likely.

9. Puts You In A Good Mood

When the body is functioning at its best, you will feel great and be happy!

10. Save Money!

Water is FREE! Even if you choose bottled/filtered water, it’s STILL cheaper than that high sugar and fat-filled latte!

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Health Benefits of Vegetables

Health Benefits of Vegetables

People who eat fruit and vegetables as part of their daily diet have a reduced risk of many chronic diseases. such as 

• ALS (Lou Gehrig's Disease)
• Alzheimer's Disease and other Dementias.
• Arthritis.
• Asthma.
• Cancer.
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)
• Cystic Fibrosis.
• Diabetes.
  

  Heart disease and stroke

Vegetables are important part of healthy eating and provide a source of many nutrients, including potassium, fiber, folate (folic acid){Folate is a B-vitamin that is naturally present in many foods. A form of folate, called folic acid, is used in dietary supplements and fortified foods.} and vitamins A, E and C. Options like broccoli, spinach, tomatoes and garlic provide additional benefits, making them a superfood!

Potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Dietary fiber from vegetables helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease.

Folate (folic acid) helps the body form healthy red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant and those in the first trimester of pregnancy need adequate folate to reduce the risk of neural tube defects and spina bifida during fetal development.

Nutrients

• Most vegetables are naturally low in fat and calories. None have cholesterol. (Sauces or seasonings may add fat, calories, and/or cholesterol.)
• Vegetables are important sources of many nutrients, including potassium, dietary fiber, folate (folic acid), vitamin A, and vitamin C.
• Diets rich in potassium may help to maintain healthy blood pressure. Vegetable sources of potassium include sweet potatoes, white potatoes, white beans, tomato products (paste, sauce, and juice), beet greens, soybeans, lima beans, spinach, lentils, and kidney beans.
• Dietary fiber from vegetables, as part of an overall healthy diet, helps reduce blood cholesterol levels and may lower risk of heart disease. Fiber is important for proper bowel function. It helps reduce constipation and diverticulosis(What is diverticulosis?
  Diverticulosis is a condition that develops when pouches (diverticula ) form in the wall of the colon (large intestine ). These pouches are usually very small (5 to 10 millimeters) in diameter but can be larger). Fiber-containing foods such as vegetables help provide a feeling of fullness with fewer calories.
• Folate (folic acid) helps the body form red blood cells. Women of childbearing age who may become pregnant should consume adequate folate from foods, and in addition 400 mcg of synthetic folic acid from fortified foods or supplements. This reduces the risk of neural tube defects, spina bifida, and anencephaly during fetal development.
• Vitamin A like sweet potato and carrots keeps eyes and skin healthy and helps to protect against infections.
• Vitamin C fruits like Guavas and oranges helps heal cuts and wounds and keeps teeth and gums healthy. Vitamin C aids in iron absorption.

Eating Vegetables Health Benefits

• The nutrients in vegetables are vital for health and maintenance of your body.
• Eating a diet rich in vegetables may reduce risk for stroke, cancer, heart diseases and type-2 diabetes.
• One to four cups of vegetables are recommended each day, depending on how many calories you need. To find out how many vegetables you need to eat, use the Healthy Eating Planner. 
• Eating vegetables and fruits rich in potassium as part of an overall healthy diet may lower blood pressure, and may also reduce the risk of developing kidney stones and help to decrease bone loss.
• Eating foods such as vegetables that are lower in calories per cup instead of some other higher-calorie food may be useful in helping to lower calorie intake.
•  

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GIRLS: HOW TO BREAK UP WITH SOMEONE NICELY

Breakups are hard for everyone involved. If you want to let him go without causing him too much pain, here’s how to break up with him, nicely.

I’ve few breakups myself.i Actually broke up with like two of a long term relationship and i tell you it was fun . Well i have little experience in this, so am give a tip on how to breakup less painfully.
you can also comment if you know anyone

 ladies: Breaking up  with him: Break the news to him softly.

most people think that picking a fight or starting a quarrel is the best way to start a breakup with someone, because it’s much more easier to do when you’re angry.
But that only causes pain to both party, and believe me that's not what you want.

Guys have a weakness to use anger as their focus tool. Specially before sadness results to crying. If you want to avoid their wrath and learn how to break up with him the nice way, these are the different ways to do it without resulting to pain or fight. Just get this at the back of your mind, that every body is not the same, so the approach may woke for you and it may not.

No 1.  Don’t start a fight. Starting a fight as a means to transform into a breakup is only going to make things much worse. truth, you might think that it going to be much more easier to break up with someone when you’re mad or angry at them, because it takes your pain away. But that's not right.

This is specifically means that the thing you’re fighting about has nothing to do with why you’re ending the relationship like, "You don't even respect me. I'm talking and you are busy breathing? It's over!", No. You’ll get them all wound up and angry. And it can result to something else.

#2 Do it face to face. Gone are the days of breaking up via phone call or text message which people see as cruel or heartless. You need to do it yourself, face to face.  if you have any Atom of respect for your *soon-to-be ex*. Breaking up with them in person gives them the excuse to let out their thoughts, emotion and feelings too.

Plus, doing it over the phone is much more cruel which others consider kinda wicked and it doesn’t give you enough time to explain how you’re feeling,or show them you really feel, so if you want to, do it in person.

#3 carve out time for a lengthy conversation. Don’t break up with them when you have a total of 10 minutes to spend before you have to be out the door for work or some other important commitment. Allow an entire afternoon for the onslaught of all a breakup brings to the table.

It’s disrespectful to drop something like that on a person and then rush out the door without giving them the time they need to cope and ask you questions.

#4 Don’t blame them in any way. Pointing fingers is absolutely not the RIGHT thing to breakup with someone.Even when its clear that they to blame for you not bring joy and happiness to the relationship, never make it about them because it causes them the most pain.

Don’t use the, “it’s not you, it’s me,or vice versa” speech on them, but that’s basically what you have to let them know without using that phase. Make it about your misery and your wants changing, they’ll feel less pain. And at the end of the day—if they really care about you—they just want you to be happy.

#5 Don’t beat around the bush—hit the nail on the head. Don’t set up the breakup with a long, boring speech about how people your age need to explore and all that junk he really doesn’t care about. Breaking up with him the nice way means you get right to the point.

It’s always best to be open and honest and just get down to the nitty gritty of it all. This takes all the guesswork out of the whole speech you’re giving. And it minimizes their anxiety about it.

#6 Have a specific reason and stick to a major one. They’re going to want an explanation or reason for why you want to leave them or breakup with them, which is ok in a breakup. But don’t give them a long list of what as gone wrong. But also don’t give them such a broad reason that it doesn’t make any sense.

I’m not happy is a good reason to break up with someone, but give them more than that. This gives them more closure than just giving a broad reason and letting their imagination fill in the rest. Even if they don’t accept that reason at first, stick with it. 

#7 Be sensitive. They’re going to be hurt. This feeling might manifest itself in a number of other emotions so just be sensitive to that. If they start yelling and getting mad, try not to act out. Just be there for them.

Breaking up with someone and dismissing their feelings or showing that you don’t care is a fast way to make them mad and hurt them even more. In order to break up with him the nice way, put yourself in his shoes and understand how he’s feeling.

#8 Ask them how they feel about your reasons. It might seem like a bad idea to ask them how they feel about your reason for leaving them, but think about it for a minute. If you ask them how they feel about it, it forces them to think from your perspective.

They put themselves in your shoes and sometimes they’ll even agree that parting ways is the best solution. If not, at least you gave them the chance to tell you how they feel about it, giving them more closure and helping them heal. 

#9 Don’t say you can be friends. I know most people will disagree with this but,At least not at first. While they might want to maintain contact and keep you around, it’s only going to hurt them more and take them longer to heal and move on. This might seem like the nice thing to do, but it’s actually not.

#10 Let them be hurt. This is the most important thing you have to do in order to break up with him the nice way. Allow him to be hurt. He’s going to be mad angry, depressed, sad, resentful, and a whole slew of other emotions. But you need to let him feel those things without prying. This means you need to shut down contact with him for a while until the breakup phase has passed.

who says breaking up with someone is easy, but atimes you just have to let go of people, maybe its affecting you or its affecting them. I hope this ten nice and sweet idea will help you.

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WAYS TO BE COLDHEARTED

I know many people will like this, you don't want to feel for again or you don't want to be heartless to those scumbags who take advantage of you? Here are steps to be heartless

Heartles is a state of being emotionless, unfeeling; unkind; unsympathetic; harsh; cruel.

To me being heartless means you not being able to feel

I used to love that song by Kanye West, Heartless. To me, that was the epitome of being used, abused, and left behind. 

In essence, you have to lose your sense of empathy and humor. When it comes to a relationship, that is the hardest thing to do though, unless you are not a human being. Not many of us can just stop caring about someone, especially someone we love and we care about..

If you truly want to be heartless, you have to adopt these thoughts and behaviors but its not advice-able to be heartless

Someone who is heartless is missing a key ingredient in their personality. They lack something called empathy.someone who is coldhearted. It isn’t that they don’t have a heart, it is that they literally don’t have the ability to feel for someone else. Like the Grinch stealing Christmas gifts, their hearts are ten sizes too small, but only figuratively.

So, if you want to be heartless, simply do these 17 steps.

#1 I don’t care if you cry. Who can sit in front of another human being and watch them cry and not feel sorry for them. Or have the itch to step in and help? Heartless people don’t care if you are sobbing silently or in an all-out bawl, your tears won’t be wasted on them.

#2 I will leave you if it doesn’t benefit me. Heartless people feel no loyalty or connection to those around them or that they are in a relationship with. If you fail to serve their purpose, which is giving them something, providing them a service, or taking care of their needs, then you are so yesterday.

#3 What is yours is mine, what is mine is mine. At the heart of any heartless person is selfishness. They have no interest in sharing and bleed you dry if they can before they would put out a cent of their own money for, or on, you.

#4 If it doesn’t work, there are other fish in the sea. To someone who is heartless, a love interest is just one in a million. There is nothing special that you possess, because you can’t grab hold of their heart strings, they don’t have any.

#5 You are nothing but a means to my ends. People are nothing but objects to heartless people. Everyone in their life serves a specific purpose and is a vector to getting what they want. The only time they are nice is when they want something from you. Once you are all used up, they couldn’t be bothered looking down at your body lying in the gutter.

#6 If something bad happened to you, I wouldn’t care. Even if you are upset with someone, or done with them, if they call and they need you, the empathy most people carry would be enough to help in a pinch. At a minimum, a normal person calls the proper authorities to help out. If you call a heartless person when in trouble, you better get running, because there ain’t no one coming to help! 

#7 I would have no problem telling everyone around me your biggest insecurities and deepest secrets. There is no such thing as keeping a secret or making a promise to those around a heartless person.

If you make a heartless person angry, they have no problem retaliating in every way possible. Calling friends, family, or anyone else who will listen, even to the lengths of posting things on social media sites to take you down and destroy you to the point of no return, is the mission.

#8 Cheating is not a problem. If someone is prettier or has something better to give—cheating isn’t really cheating, because the heartless person never really makes a commitment to you. They may say that you are their one and only, but they have no ability to follow through or to love you, so cheating doesn’t even exist.

#9 There are no boundaries about what I will say to your face. If you get in a fight with someone who is heartless, there is nothing that is out of bounds. Knowing your every weakness or insecurity, they call you out, call you names, and rip your heart out with the most callous words anyone has ever said to you.

#11 If you were on your last dime I would totally take it. People who are heartless don’t think about the emotions or concerns of others. If you were literally on your last dime, they would have no problem borrowing it and not returning it. The worst part? They probably have a twenty-dollar bill in their pocket. People who are heartless don’t care about anyone’s needs but their own.

#12 You want honesty? I will give you honesty. You know when you ask if you look fat in these jeans or ask, “Baby, would you love me if I was poor?” Someone without a heart would answer yes, and then no, in that order. Heartless people don’t care about how you feel, so honesty is what you get.

There is no consideration of the Thumper rule about if you can’t say anything nice. Niceness isn’t in their vocabulary.

#13 I don’t care who is listening. There are things you discuss in public and then those you hold for private conversations. Heartless people don’t care about the sensitive nature of what you have to discuss or who is listening. They have something to say to you, who cares how embarrassing it may be. “Hey… I am just saying…” is one of their favorite phrases.

#14 I will put you down to make myself look big. Bullies are heartless people, and the way a bully feels good about themselves is by making everyone else little by belittling them. A heartless person uses you as a punching bag and isn’t afraid to make you the butt of their jokes at all costs. They have to look good, you know?

#15 Whatever you want, I want.  Heartless people don’t put too much stake in things no one wants. What they want is what you want, and they have no problem stealing it from you and then flaunting it in front of your face.

 #16 Sure I’ll rub it in. You know when you see someone who has had a bad day and you just  know that the last thing they need is a kick when they are down, so you skirt around the issue? People who are heartless, take that opportunity to rub it in, make you feel worse, kick you as low down as you can possibly go, and don’t think twice about it.

Back to the tears… even if they drive you to tears, and a sign to say “enough,” that is when they go in for the kill.

#17 I’m a really bitter and unhappy person. This is one of the biggest downsides of being heartless. At the heart of someone who acts as if they don’t have a heart is bitterness and anger.

Not many of us have the ability to be heartless. It is a specific skill that takes a special type of human being. If you are tired of being Mr. or Ms. Nice and think it is time to try your hand at being the one who comes out on top, you may be considering trying these tactics. The problem is that you aren’t heartless. If you were, you wouldn’t be reading about how to be.

If you think you can hurt a heartless person by using these suggestions, you can’t. They probably won’t even recognize it because they’re so messed up already.

In fact, you will walk away feeling bad about yourself and get the exact opposite effect you were hoping for. You can give it a go, but my suggestion is that if someone in your life is treating you heartlessly, then you should let them go instead of going down a path that just isn’t you.

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6 HEALTHY WAYS TO PROVE YOU LOVE HER

IS YOUR LOVER ASKING YOU TO PROVE YOUR LOVE TO HIM OR HER? THERE ARE MANY WAYS TO PROVE YOUR LOVE TO THEM WITHOUT HAVING SEX.

Young lovers have a fascination for love and the way it works.

And more than anything else, the impatient young want proof for everything.

If a meaningful proclamation of love isn’t enough for you, here’s something that can help you understand the proof of love better.

Firstly, there is no quick way to prove that you love someone.

Love needs time to reveal itself, just like a flower needs time to bloom and a sapling needs time to grow into a tree.

6 ways to prove that you love someone

If you want to prove that you love someone, here are a few things you can keep in mind to do just that.

#1 Be truthful. Be truthful about your feelings and voice your thoughts.

The easiest way to prove that you love someone is by expressing your opinions about this special person.

#2 A shoulder to learn on. Stand by your lover,  in the good times, and more so in the bad times.

All of us have our ups and downs in life. Be the shoulder to lean on and give your partner the courage and strength to take the next step by letting them know that you’re right by their side.

#3 Sex and lust. While infatuation revolves around sex and lust, love doesn’t. Love is a deeper emotion that transcends physical appearances. If you truly believe that you like your partner for who they are as a person, and not because of how much they arouse you, that’s true love.

#4 Don’t be materialistic. Money is fickle. It’s true that money can give you a lot of happiness, but your love should not flicker with the winds of wealth. 

#5 Romantic gestures. Indulging in happy romantic gestures is one of the sweetest ways to let someone know that you truly love them. It’ll make your partner feel loved and you’ll feel warm and happy on the inside. 

#6 Unconditional love. Love your partner unconditionally and selflessly. Put their needs before yours, and focus on their happiness more than your own. Unconditional love is tricky though and these expressions of selfless love should never be one sided in the relationship, or it would eventually lead to a painful breakup.

The proof of love

Young lovers constantly want their partners to prove their love by indulging in cinematized gestures like undergoing pain or risking something they love dearly just to prove their love for someone. It’s cute and very romantic, when both lovers go to great lengths to sacrifice pleasures and moments of happiness so they can let someone know just how much they mean to them.

Go on and indulge in it, after all, love does drive you crazy. It may have worked in the days of the knights and damsels, and it still does work to this day. But don’t try to prove your love for someone by doing something you don’t want to, or something you know you’ll end up regretting.

The truth about proving your love for someone

Anyone who asks you to prove your love doesn’t love you yet. They’re toying with you or just having fun with you to see how much you can pursue them. While a romantic chase is good during the wooing period, stay away from partners who ask for proof of your love all the time, even though both of you have been seeing each other for a while. 

Guys ask a girl to prove her love only to get a sexual favor in return.

Girls ask a guy to prove his love only to make him play to her tunes and show off to her friends that she controls him.

Love is not a test. It’s an emotion, just like pain or happiness. You can only express it, you can’t prove it. It’s something that has to be felt and experienced.

Love is not something that can be proved, unless you use scientific brain scans and test chemical levels in your body. And to be quite frank, they’re not very accurate either.

Things you should never do to prove your love

As much as you may want to prove how much you love someone, avoid doing any of these things.

# Have sex or get physical with your partner when you’re uncomfortable with that thought.

# Break the law just to appear cooler or get something for your partner.

# Do something you don’t want to or feel comfortable with.

# Go against your moral principles that you’ll regret later.

But if you can’t stop looking for ways to prove your love, indulge in a romantic gesture that can bring a smile on your partner’s face. That’s all the proof your partner should need.

How far should you go to prove your love for someone?

If your lover constantly wants proof of your love all the time, end the relationship. You’ll always feel like you need to do more to prove your love and your partner will never be happy. Love is mutual and effortless. Both of you have to prove your love in little ways every day and build the trust around the relationship.

Romantic gestures, gifts and poems don’t prove your love, it’s just a way to express the overwhelming rush of happy emotions you feel for someone.

If that’s what your lover wants, indulge in it. But don’t do anything more. It’s not necessary to prove anything when your lover behaves like an immature child who wants proof for everything you do. And you should be wary though, a partner who asks for proof of your love may just want to exploit you the easy way.

Understanding how to prove that you love someone is easy if you understand how love works. It’s something that has to be felt inside, and not something that can ever be proved by any other means.

source lovepanky.com by elizabeth arthur

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HOW TO START BLOGGING WITH WORDPRESS

DON'T WANT TO USE BLOGGER! TRY WORDPRESS

What do you need to start a WordPress blog?

There are three things you need to start a WordPress blog:

1. A domain name idea (this will be the name of your blog i.e wpbeginner.com)
2. A web hosting account (this is where your website live on the internet)
3. Your undivided attention for 30 minutes.

Yes, you read it right. You can start a blog from scratch in less than 30 minutes, and we will walk you through the whole process, step by step.

In this tutorial, we will cover:

• How to Register a Domain Name for Free
• How to Choose the Best Web Hosting
• How to Install WordPress
• How to Change Your Theme
• How to Write Your First Blog Post
• How to Customize WordPress with Plugins
• Resources to Learn WordPress

Ready? Let’s get started.

Step 1. Setup

The biggest mistake beginners make when starting a blog is choosing the wrong blogging platform. Thankfully you’re here, so you won’t be making that mistake.

For 95% of users, it makes more sense to use WordPress.org also known as self-hosted WordPress. Why? Because it is free to use, you can install plugins, customize your site design, and most importantly make money from your site without any restrictions (see the difference between WordPress.com vs WordPress.org).

Now you have probably heard that WordPress is free.

You might be wondering why is it free? What’s the catch?

There’s no catch. It’s free because you have to do the setup and host it yourself.

In other words, you need a domain name and web hosting.

A domain name is what people type to get to your website. It’s your website’s address on the internet. Think google.com or wpbeginner.com

Web hosting is where your website live. It’s your website’s house on the internet. Every website needs web hosting.

A domain name typically costs $14.99 / year, and web hosting normally costs $7.99 / month.

That’s a lot for beginners who are just starting out.

Thankfully, Bluehost, an official WordPress recommended hosting provider, has agreed to offer our users a free domain name and over 60% off on web hosting.

Bluehost is one of the oldest web hosting companies, started in 1996 (that’s before Google). They are also the largest brand name when it comes to WordPress hosting because they host millions of websites including our own.

On top of all this, Bluehost has been working with WordPress since 2005, and they are committed to giving back. That’s why they have promised us that if you cannot get your blog online within 30 minutes by following this tutorial, then our expert team will complete the process for you without any cost. They will compensate us, so you don’t have to. Contact us for free blog setup help.

NOTE: At WPBeginner we believe in transparency. If you sign up with Bluehost using our referral link, we will earn a small commission at no extra cost to you (in fact, you will save money and get a free domain). We would get this commission for recommending just about any WordPress hosting company, but we only recommend products that we use personally use and believe will add value to our readers.

Let’s go ahead and purchase your domain + hosting.

Open up Bluehost in a new window and follow along.

First thing you need to do is click on the green Get Started Now button to get started.

On the next screen, select the plan that you need (basic and plus are the most popular).

After that, you will be asked to enter the domain name for your website.

Lastly, you will need to add your account information and finalize the package info to complete the process. On this screen, you will see optional extras that you can purchase. It’s entirely up to you whether or not you purchase these, but we generally don’t recommend purchasing these. You can always add them later on, if you decide that you need them.

Once completed, you will receive an email with details on how to login to your web hosting control panel (cPanel). This is where you manage everything from support, emails, among other things. But most importantly, this is where you install WordPress.

Step 2. Install WordPress

In the cPanel, you will see dozens of small icons for different services and features. This can be a bit overwhelming, so ignore 95% of them because you will never need to use them.

Scroll down to the website section and click on the WordPress icon.

You will be redirected to the Bluehost Marketplace Quick Install screen for WordPress. Click on the Get Started button.

On the next screen, you will be asked to select your domain name. Choose the domain from the dropdown and then click Next.

After that, you need to enter your Site Name, username, and a password for your site. You also need to check all the checkboxes and then click Install.

The QuickInstall will start installing WordPress. The marketplace will prompt you to browse WordPress themes, while WordPress is being installed.

No need to do that right now. We’ll show you how to get free WordPress themes in the next step.

Once WordPress is finished installing, you will see the success notice in the top header bar.

Click on the Installation Complete link, and it will take you to the screen with your WordPress login URL and password.

Congratulations, you have created your WordPress site. That wasn’t too bad right.

Your WordPress login URL will look like this:

http://yoursite.com/wp-admin

Click on the WordPress login link to login to your dashboard.

Now we’re ready to customize your site’s appearance and start blogging.

Step 3. Selecting your WordPress Theme

The visual appearance of your WordPress blog is controlled by themes. When you first visit your blog, it will look something like this:

This is not very appealing to most people.

Customizing the look and feel of your blog is by far one of the most exciting and rewarding part in the journey of creating your WordPress site.

There are thousands of pre-made WordPress themes that you can install on your site. Some of them are free, while others are paid.

You can change your theme by going to your WordPress dashboard and clicking on Appearance » Themes.

Go ahead and click on the Add New button.

On the next screen, you will able to search from the 4100 free WordPress themes that are available in the official WordPress.org themes directory. You can sort by popular, latest, featured, as well as other feature filters (i.e industry, layout, etc).

When you have found the theme that you like, simply bring your mouse on it, and it will show the Install button. Click on it and wait for the theme to be installed. After that, the install button will be replaced with an Activate button. You need to click on it to Activate the theme.

Once you have installed your theme, you can customize it by clicking on the Customize link under the Appearance menu.

If you need help selecting a theme, then please refer to our guide on 9 things you should consider when selecting a perfect WordPress theme.

Once you have selected your WordPress theme, you are now ready to create your first blog post.

Step 4. Creating Your First Blog Post

To write your first blog post, click on the Posts » Add New menu in your WordPress dashboard.

You will see an editor area where you can write your first blog post.

Once you’re done writing, go ahead and click on the Publish button on the right to publish your first blog post to the world.

On the posts screen, you will notice several other sections such as Categories and Tags. You can use these to organize your blog posts. We have a great writeup on the difference between categories vs tags, which we highly recommend that you read.

To utilize all the features on the posts screen, you should read our article on how to add a new post in WordPress (video included).

Often beginners are confused between posts and pages menu in the WordPress dashboard. That’s why we have written a complete guide on the difference between posts vs pages in WordPress.

Step 5. Plugins & Customizations

Once you have written your first blog post, you probably want to get started with adding other usual elements on your website such as a contact form, about page, and more.

To further customize WordPress and add features like contact forms, galleries, sliders, etc, you need to use WordPress plugins.

WordPress plugins are apps that allow you to add new features to your website.

There are over 46,000 WordPress plugins available. At WPBeginner, we feature the best WordPress plugins to help you add the functionality that you need.

We have a step by step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

Often readers ask us which plugins do you use on your website. You can check out our Blueprint to see the list of plugins and tools that we use.

Here’s a list of 24 must have WordPress plugins for business websites.

Step 6. Mastering WordPress

WPBeginner is the largest free WordPress resource site for beginners.

At WPBeginner, our main goal is to provide cutting-edge helpful WordPress tutorials that are easy to understand for small businesses, bloggers, and non-techy WordPress website owners (see more about us).

To expand your WordPress knowledge, you should check out:

• WPBeginner Dictionary – The best place for beginners to start and familiarize themselves with the WordPress lingo
• WPBeginner Videos – New to WordPress? Watch these 23 videos to master WordPress.
• WPBeginner Blog – The central place for all our WordPress tutorials.

You can also subscribe to WPBeginner’s YouTube Channel where we regularly share video tutorials to help you learn WordPress.

Lastly, you can use Google to type your question and add WPBeginner in front of it. Our users find this very helpful because you’ll likely find an answer to any WordPress questions that you have.

In case you don’t find an answer to your question, simply use our contact form to send us a message. We love helping users get started with WordPress.

We hope that you found our tutorial on how to start a WordPress blog to be helpful. You may also want to check out our article on 19 actionable tips to drive traffic to your new WordPress site.

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