1. Register with WordPress Web hosting. WordPress tightly controls the use of ads on its blogs. With WordPress Web hosting, you have more flexibility to control the design and content of your blog than you would have with a conventional WordPress account. WordPress Web hosting also gives you the freedom to develop your own themes based on templates like the post Thesis template. Registering with WordPress Web hosting requires that you purchase a domain name from one of the WordPress recognized Web hosts, such as Blue Host, Network Solutions or Media Temple. Links to these registrars can be found at the WordPress Web hosting information page.
2. Purchase a copy of the Thesis blog template. Thesis is a template designed for WordPress by a developer named 'DIY Themes.' Thesis costs $87 as of March 2011 for individuals, and is compatible with blogs run by WordPress. To purchase the Thesis template, visit the DIY Themes website and place an order with your credit card on the 'Register and Download' page.
3. Select a Post theme for your WordPress blog, if you haven't done so already. The Post format is the WordPress feature that allows users to customize and build their own themes. If your blog already runs a 'canned' WordPress theme, you can switch to the Post format by clicking on 'Appearance,' then 'Themes,' then 'Activate (theme).'
4. Upload the thesis theme to your WordPress account. To do this, go to the WP content-themes directory of your account and use the file manager function to extract the Thesis files to your directory.
5. Upload your ads to the WP content-themes directory using the file manager function. If you do not yet have any paid advertising and are simply doing this project for the learning experience, create a random image in MS Paint or Photoshop for use as a stand-in. The Thesis theme technically allows ads of any size, but aesthetically, the ideal size for an ad at the end of a page is 468x60, as this fits nicely within the width of the content section of the page.
6. Open your custom_functions.php file, and paste the code template for ads at the bottom of a page. You do not need to know PHP in order to do this; the script for this piece of code can be found at the DIY Themes website (see Resources). The only thing you need to modify yourself is your website URL and the image file name. Both of these elements are found in the following line:
. Place your blog URL and image file name in the sections with parentheses.