Whether you write plugins or hacks for WordPress, or you want to add bits and pieces of code about your own WordPress site or other programming code like HTML, CSS, PHP, or javascripts, putting code in your post that "looks" like code, but "doesn't behave" like code, is a frequent challenge for bloggers.

By default, WordPress will convert unrecognized uses of < and > into characters which actually look like &lt; and &gt;, which will "look" like a < and a > when posted. Or, if it finds the use of an HTML tag within the post, it will use the tag like it is HTML and you will have funky looking text and a messed up layout.

Validating a website is the process of ensuring that the pages on the website conform to the norms or standards defined by various organizations. Validation is important, and will ensure that your web pages are interpreted in the same way (the way you want it) by various machines, such as search engines, as well as users and visitors to your webpage.

Changing the look of your blog is easy

One of the most popular PHP based blogs is Wordpress. Although the default blue style is clean and crisp, it doesn't offer much personality. Many users like to mix things up a bit by changing the theme of their blog. This can change the colors, the graphics and even the layout of the page.

Making a mistake at the beginning can cause problems in the future.

The Criteria for WordPress Hosting

OK, let’s talk about hosting. I am writing this entire WordPress series as if you are going to host your WordPress blog and not use the free WordPress.com hosting. I’ve given you the reasons already. With that in mind, I really can tell you that there are only a couple of places that you need to look. Why is that?