Installing WordPress Jetpack Plugin

The Jetpack plugin from Automattic brings WordPress.com premium features to your self-hosted WordPress site.

If you’re not sure what the differences are between WordPress.com sites and self-hosted WordPress sites, don’t worry, we’ll explain more about that below.

In this article, we’ll also cover the basic installation of the Jetpack plugin and the basic configuration. Jetpack is an ideal plugin to complement a WordPress-optimized hosting account.

What’s the difference between WordPress.com and self-hosting?

WordPress.com is a managed hosting platform for WordPress by WordPress. This means you get some premium features but you don’t control the code of the site itself. This is good for some users, but for others it can be limiting.

For users who already have a hosting account, or like to exercise more control over their domain, Jetpack brings the premium features of WordPress.com to your self-hosted WordPress site.

Using Your WordPress.com Account

You will need a WordPress.com account to link your self-hosted site to. If you are migrating from WordPress.com to self-hosted then you already have a WordPress.com username and password.

If you have never had a WordPress.com account, you should create one now.

How to Install the Jetpack Plugin

Follow along with the steps below to see how you can install the Jetpack plugin quickly and easily from within your WordPress Dashboard:

1. Log into your WordPress Dashboard
2. Hover over Plugins and select Add New
3. Use the search bar at the top right or select Jetpack on the recommended plugins page.
4. Click Install followed by Activate

Here, you will prompted to fill in your WordPress.com username and password.

The Quick Configuration

Jetpack will walk through a quick configuration to get the most importante features enabled. It is recommended that you enable the basic feature set.

How to Select New Features

Some of the Jetpack features are free while others are only available in the paid versions. You can access all of the available Jetpack features under Jetpack > Settings in your WordPress Dashboard.

How to View Site Stats

Jetpack connects with WordPress to get you some key analytics for your site. This includes site stats. You can see how many visitors your site receives and which pages and posts are most popular. In order to see your site just go to Jetpack > Site Stats. A brief Site Stats display will also appear on your Dashboard.

More Articles about Jetpack

We have some other articles about Jetpack that will help you get started. Feel free to check them out and let us know if you have any questions:

• How to Use the Gravatar Widget
• How to Manage Email Subscriptions
• Log into Jetpack After IP Lockout
• Using the Jetpack Newsletter Subscription Form

You should have a good understanding now about how to install the Jetpack plugin and connected it to a WordPress.com account.

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