Sina has launched Sina App Engine with full support for WordPress. If you don’t have web hosting or want to test WordPress, check it out. However, it doesn’t seem to support custom domain binding yet.

Go to the homepage, register an account, create a new application, and select WordPress for SAE from the app store.

Of course, the app store offers a variety of web applications — feel free to choose what suits you. The system allows a maximum of 50 installations, so just stay within the limit.

I chose the WordPress application.

WordPress 3.2.1 for SAE comes with the following plugins. You can enable the ones you need from the dashboard:

1. Add To Any: A sharing plugin that adds share buttons at the end of your posts for one-click sharing to Sina Weibo, Twitter, Facebook, and more. However, it has limited support for Chinese social networks.
2. JiaThis: Another sharing plugin. Not as feature-rich as Add To Any, but offers better support for Chinese platforms like Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, and Renren.
3. Akismet: Built-in WordPress plugin for spam prevention. Usage guide: http://wp4sae.sinaapp.com/2011/05/akismet-introduce/
4. Google Analytics for WordPress: Adds Google Analytics tracking code to your site.
5. Google XML Sitemaps: Generates a sitemap and automatically submits it to Google, Bing, and Ask.com.
6. Lightbox 2: Displays full-size images in an overlay without page refresh.
7. SI CAPTCHA Anti-Spam: Adds CAPTCHA to comments, login forms, and more.
8. WordPress Importer: A data import plugin for easy blog migration.
9. WP-CodeBox: A code syntax highlighting plugin for developers.
10. WP-Mail-SMTP: SMTP email server configuration. Email functions (such as user registration notifications) only work after setting up SMTP. For better deliverability, using a Sina email address is recommended.
11. Social Medias Connect: Enables social login and cross-posting with Twitter, Sina Weibo, Tencent Weibo, Sohu Weibo, NetEase Weibo, Douban, Fanfou, and Follow5.

Installing WordPress 3.2.1 for SAE only requires entering your site name, admin username, and password — no database configuration needed. The WordPress dashboard looks slightly different from a standard installation. Here’s a screenshot:

In the theme installation section, the local upload option is no longer available… which is a shame. But all things considered, Sina’s free hosting offering is quite good — especially for blogs. I won’t go into detail about the other applications here — feel free to explore them yourself. Each account can host up to 10 applications, meaning one account gives you 10 free websites.