New User Questions

I am researching blog software and came across WordPress and heard some good things about it. I have some questions and hope some of you can help.

I know there are alot of questions and I want to say THANKS in advance for any help you can provide.

After reading the information on the site (not all of it yet – there is sooooo much), I have the following questions:

1. Can I add links in my content to affiliate sites, capture email addresses via an e-newsletter, and post Google Ads? Or is WP simply a blog (journaling) app?

2. Do I need to have my own server or can my pages/site be stored on a web host server?

3. Do I need programming and/or scripting skills (PHP/MySQL/HTML) in order to use WP?

4. What are the hardware and OS requirments for my home PC? Does it support Windows Vista? XP?

5. Finally, can anyone provide examples of WP sites that are up and running?

Again – thanks for any and all help.