Whether you're a budding blogger or seasoned web designer, WordPress is a brilliant tool for creating websites--once you know how to tap into its impressive features. The latest edition of this jargon-free Missing Manual shows you how to use WordPress's themes, widgets, and plug-ins to build just about any kind of site.

The important stuff you need to know:

• Set up WordPress. Configure WordPress on your web host or get it running on your home computer.
• Create your site. Get hands-on instructions for building all types of websites, from blogs to business sites with ecommerce features.
• Jazz it up. Add picture galleries, slideshows, video clips, music players, and podcasts.
• Add features. Select from thousands of plug-ins to enhance your site's capabilities, from contact forms to a basic shopping cart.
• Build a truly unique site. Customize a WordPress theme to create a site that looks exactly the way you want.
• Attract an audience. Use SEO, site statistics, and social sharing to reach more people.
• Stay safe. Use backup and staging tools to protect your content and avoid catastrophe.

Matthew MacDonald is a science and technology writer with well over a dozen books to his name. He's particularly known for his books about building websites, which include a do-it-from-scratch tutorial (Creating a Website: The Missing Manual), a look at cutting-edge HTML5 (HTML5: The Missing Manual), and a WordPress primer (WordPress: The Missing Manual). He's also written a series of books about programming on and off the Web with .NET, teaches programming at Ryerson University, and is a three-time Microsoft MVP.

In everyday life, Matthew is endlessly amazed by the odd, unusual, and just plain bonkers workings of the natural world. Those who don't have tech problems to solve can check out Matthew MacDonald's science books, where he debugs the quirks and complexities of the human brain (Your Brain: The Missing Manual) and body (Your Body: The Missing Manual). Both books include a mash-up of full-color pictures, trivia, and philosophical head-scratchers. Matthew lives in Toronto, with his wife and two daughters.