Note: This is a guest post by Michael Roper from getmusibility.com, Roper has been a friend of mine from Appstate for the past 3 years and is a smart as it gets.
Over the past month, two friends asked me a lot of questions about how to set up their first blogs. I realized they had a lot of misconceptions about how all the parts work together (the email address, domain registrars, hosting, blog installation, etc). For someone who’s never touched a server before, terms like ‘MySQL databases’ and ‘Advanced DNS Zone Editor’ can deter someone from testing out the waters.
So, here’s what you need to know and do from start to finish to get a solid personal WordPress blog on the ground.
1. Get a domain.
As a rule of thumb, get your domain from a separate site than where you buy web hosting. If you have your domain with your host, and you decide that you want to switch hosts next year, they might try to keep your domain or try to get you to jump through hoops and ultimately stay with them or at least pay them extra. Usually web hosts will offer you a free domain – do what you want with it, but I tend to warn people to not make it your primary domain.
Domain selling sites have a lot of bells and whistles they will try to sell you. If you want the WHOIS privacy, take it. But don’t pay extra for anything else unless you really know what you’re doing.
Email – Google Apps is king. Name.com and Domainsite.com have 1-click Google Apps installs. This means you click one button and a few minutes later, mail.yourdomain.com looks like Gmail. No mess, no weird formats, no additional logins.
2. Get a good host and make it easy on yourself.
You want a WordPress blog, so you want something that installs WordPress for you automatically. Most servers today do have a one-click install. I like hosts with cPanel (meaning control panel) and it’s program, Fantastico. You literally point and click to get started. By doing this, you protect yourself from a mess of extracting zip files manually and trying to get them uploaded to the right place and find out that your PHP isn’t the right version.
You also want a host that is fast.
Quick newbie notes:
Shared Hosting – It means that your server’s IP address (phone number if you will) is shared among hundreds of other sites. Imagine an operator connecting your call.
Dedicated Hosting – It means you have one of those IP addresses exclusively. It also means you pay a lot for that box holding your website. Unless you are expecting thousands of visitors, you don’t need this.
Shared hosting is where most people begin their first website, and you should too. If you choose a host that is super cheap ($4.00 a month or, free) your site is almost always going to be slow. That’s because the server is overloaded with junk websites eating up all the bandwidth. Pick a reputable host. I encourage people to go with Host Gator or BlueHost. It might cost a few bucks more, but you will be much happier.
There are plenty of excellent hosts out there. I encourage you to look for the following from where ever you choose:
- cPanel
- If no cPanel, one-click WordPress install.
- Unlimited Domains (This means you can buy other domains, add a folder and have another website without having to pay for another host. This is the difference in the Hatchling and Baby plans at HostGator. Some hosts don’t give you unlimited MySQL databases, keep in mind you need one for any additional WordPress installation you may choose to add later)
- Call customer support. Pretend you have a problem or a question with a website, see if you get someone who is polite and understands you.
- Good feedback. Search for reviews a few pages deep in Google, on Twitter, and on forums. You’ll find out quickly if people are pleased with their service.
3. Install WordPress.
Usually your host will have a tutorial, if not look for Fantastico in your cPanel. It will walk you through it. If it doesn’t work immediately after you installed, just wait 10 minutes. It will work eventually. And if by chance it still fails to work, call those nice tech support people again.
4. Draw your site on paper.
Something about drawing it out on paper saves a headache later. Make a chart of what information you have, and how you want it to be organized and labeled. Decide what buttons (pages) you want displayed, and decide how you will categorize your blog. Follow that chart, and your blog should make sense. Don’t add style, just focus on content. People usually find that they have too much or too little content for the amount of pages they anticipate the will need.
5. Go through all the menus on the backend of WordPress
If you got lost on how to get there, it’s yourdomain.com/wp-admin. Fill it out as you wish.
6. Find a great theme.
You can go with a free one, or buy a template from somewhere like themeforest.com. Or if you’re really trying to impress people, hire a professional designer (warning: it can get expensive).
A “great” theme is one that you don’t have to strain to read but is still visually pleasing to keep visitors on your site longer. A theme can also give you social proof and professionalism. If you want to be geeky about it, get one that is XHTML 1.0 Strict validated. If you don’t know what that means, ignore it.
7. Plugins
You can install them from within WordPress. You do NOT need to download them on your browser, upload them, and then log back in. Just go to the Plugins menu and add a new one. It will give you a place to search, then look for these:
Must haves -
a. All in one SEO
Go ahead and set up Google Analytics while you’re at it. It will ask you to verify your site, the easiest way is to “upload file” via your cPanel with Legacy File Manager. You will grow to love analytics, because you will see where all your visitors come from, how they found you, and how long they stayed.
b. Google XML Sitemaps
Go ahead and set up Feedburner. This redirects your RSS feed to Google. If you don’t already know what it does, it just makes your blog in a nice format for others to subscribe to.
e. WordPress Mobile Edition
Make it nice for iPhone people.
Tips: Keep Akismet, it will help eliminate spam. Also, don’t be afraid to delete plugins you aren’t using because they will slow down your site. Then, match plugins up according to your niche.
8. See where it takes you.
There’s no perfect template. Just keep posting and testing out new things. In time, you’ll create a nice online presence.
