I bought this book because it was the only comprehensive beginner's guide to WordPress that I could find, and it was also up to date (important in this rapidly changing field). This was my first "Dummies" purchase; I've always hated that title and the implicit putdown it conveys.
I was pleasantly surprised. Lisa Sabin-Wilson knows her stuff, she writes well, and the advice is practical and easy to follow. The book uses a logical progression, teaching us step-by-step what WordPress is, what it can do, and where you can go to find further resources. Sections address important topics such as plugins, self-hosting, theme selection and development, migrating your blog from another site, and much more.
I was mostly looking for a guide on using WordPress as a website content management system (CMS), and although one chapter does address this, I wish the book had covered this in more depth. Also, I would have liked to read more about design and style issues. However, no one book can do it all, and at almost 400 pages this book was long enough. (Although it's a very quick read; it took me only one morning to get through it, and not all chapters will be relevant to every reader.)
I recommend it to anyone wanting to gain basic familiarity with WordPress (and related technical jargon), see whether it's the thing for you and, if so, get started using it.
