Although WordPress and WordPress MU share somewhere around 95% of the same code, there are many more differences between the two than just multi-blog support. Here’s a thorough analysis:

WordPress	WordPress MU
Supports one blog with multiple bloggers.	Supports multiple blogs and multiple bloggers. Bloggers can write for multiple blogs.
Famous for its “5 minute install.”	Setup is more involved.
No advanced hosting requirements.	Your host needs to support wildcard DNS to use the subdomains feature.
Instant installation (through Fantastico, etc.) supported by many webhosts.	FTP time!
Each user is assigned a role level (subscriber, contributor, author, editor, administrator).	In addition to the standard WordPress roles, you can also specify “site admins” who can add/edit/delete all blogs and users.
WordPress receives updates first.	MU users must wait for WordPress updates to be applied to WordPress MU.
Administrators can edit themes, plugins, and code files from within WordPress.	The Theme Editor, Plugin Editor, and Manage Files sections are all disabled for security reasons.
Plugins can be enabled/disabled by the blog administrator.	The site admin can opt to have plugins disabled altogether (the default setting), or allow blog administrators to enable/disable plugins that have been uploaded. Plugins can also be uploaded to a special “mu-plugins” folder, where they will be executed automatically on all blogs. (Some plugins won’t function property when run this way, however.)
If you have multiple blogs running standard WordPress, you’d need to upload plugin updates to each one.	Plugins for all WordPress MU blogs are stored in one place. Update once, and it takes effect on all the site’s blogs.
If you have multiple blogs running standard WordPress, you’d need to login to each one separately to access the administration.	You can switch between blog admins using a simple drop-down menu.
Allows you to use most HTML in your posts, but strips out PHP.	In addition to removing PHP, WordPress MU is more strict in regards to what post HTML it accepts. For example, it will strip out class/ID attributes, inline styles, <span> tags, etc.
WordPress allows posting via email.	WordPress MU lacks this feature.
WordPress lets you customize its list of update services.	WordPress MU doesn’t let you specify update services.

Are there any other differences between WordPress and MU that I missed? Let me know in the comments!

#7 — Does It Use Header Tags Correctly?

An SEO fine point: see tip #14 from my WordPress SEO post.

#6 — Does it Have Valid Code?

If possible, validate a default setup of the theme. If the theme itself has errors, the designer probably hasn’t taken the greatest care in its development.

#5 — Is It So 1990s?

A theme that uses tables, font tags, excessive inline styles, etc. (as opposed to external style sheets) will bloat the file size of your blog’s pages, increase rendering times, and eat up bandwidth more quickly.

Virtually all of the popular themes should be fine on this point, but it’s some of the more obscure ones you might have to check or ask about.

#4 — Does It Support the Latest WordPress Features?

Check with the theme’s documentation and see if it supports newer WordPress features such as:

• Tags (added in WordPress 2.3)
• Widgets (added in WordPress 2.2)

#3 — Is It Sponsored?

Sponsored themes are usually an SEO no-no. If the theme’s website says something along the lines of “don’t remove the links in the footer,” that should raise a red flag.

#2 — Is It Unique Enough?

If you’re trying to create a visual brand with your blog, then try to avoid using the WordPress Default Theme or another theme that everyone and their dog has seen on some other blog.

Try to find a theme that isn’t used on an excessive amount of blogs, or get a custom theme developed if you’re willing to hire someone.

#1 — Does it Look Good?

It goes without saying that if the theme doesn’t convey a professional image (and if a professional image is important to you), don’t use it, even if it means you have to go with another theme that doesn’t quite do all of the above.

Finding the perfect theme is a bit like shopping: try some out, see what looks best, and have fun with it!

Before you start adding content, you’ll need to log in to the WordPress administration center. On your blog there should be a link that says “Login.” Click that, type in your username and password, and click Login.

Posts

Posts are the articles you publish on your blog, like the ones you’d find in a newspaper. The article you’re reading right now is a WordPress post. Posts are chronological (they’re published on a certain date), they can be categorized and tagged, and visitors can leave comments.

To add a post to your blog, click the “Write” button on the top administration menu.

The two most important input fields you see will be Title (where you put the title of the post/article) and Post (where you put the content).

Two other important fields are Categories and Tags. Both of them help you organize your content, but they’re not identical. Here’s a good analogy of their differences from the post Putting Some Thought Into Blog Categories and Tags:

In the simplest of terms, I think of categories as the table of contents for your blog, a kind of general outline that directs visitors to general topics that you blog about. Tags are more like the index page of a book, a list of key words people will use to search for specific terms.

So categories are more structured, whereas tags are more free-form. A post will usually have one or two categories and several or more tags. (Or you can forgo tags altogether if you wish.)

To add a category, first click the plus sign next to “Categories” if you can’t see the list. Then check off a category or two from the list, or type in a new one and click “Add.”

To add tags, type them in the “Tags” box and separate them with commas.

There are many other fields on the Write Post page, but you don’t need to fill them out for purposes of basic blog publishing.

If you want to save your post but keep working on it, click “Save and Continue Editing.” To save your post so you can come back to it later, click “Save.” If you’re ready for the world to see your post, click “Publish.”

Pages

Pages have a title and content like a Post, but they are static (they’re not date-oriented), by default they can’t be categorized or tagged, and visitors typically can’t leave comments on them. Pages can also be hierarchical, whereas Posts can’t.

Pages can give information about the blog, the author, or other non-article content that should always be accessible instead of being archived.

To add a page, click the “Write” button and then click “Write Page.” With the exception of the aforementioned differences, the “Write Page” panel functions very similarly to the “Write Post” section.

For more information, check out this tutorial on WordPress pages, as well as some examples of how you should NOT use WordPress Pages.

Widgets

Widgets are “blobs” of information about your blog that go in the sidebar.

Some examples: a list of your categories, a “tag cloud” (a free-form list in which the more popular tags have a larger font), a list of monthly archive links, a piece of text, etc.

To activate widgets, go to Appearance in your WordPress admin, then click Widgets.

Drag-and-drop the widgets onto the sidebar boxes to arrange them the way you want. If there’s a button to the right of the widget’s name, click it to view and edit additional options for that widget.

Note: Not all themes support widgets. If widgets don’t appear to be working, try installing a theme that supports them.

Conclusion

I hope this article provided helpful content management information for WordPress beginners out there. Stay tuned to The WordPress Expert for more WordPress tips, tutorials, and information.

If you have any questions or comments, please voice them in the comments section below.