Pisces Moon Studio

Other entries:

• 31: Why WordPress?
• #3: 10 Free Basic PlugIns You Should Add

After reading last week’s WW, you’ve decided that having your own WordPress on your own domain is exactly what your marketing efforts need. So how do you get started setting it up?

I’m going to walk you, step-by-step, through the process of doing it yourself. It’s not difficult to do, but it is a little complicated. Note: If you are not a techno-nerd and just want it Done! Now! then the easy way is listed at the end of this post.

If you’d rather do it yourself, read on and I will teach you how.

First Things First

First of all, you will need a domain name. If you don’t already have one, think about the most appropriate name for your blog and website. For a business owner, that would of course be your business name or something closely related. For an artist’s website, your own name would be appropriate.

Domain names are like real estate. Five years ago they were cheap and plentiful, and it was easy to buy the one you wanted without worrying if someone else got there ahead of you. They’re still cheap, but the speculators have moved in and bought up a lot of good ones already, so you might have to be a bit creative when finding one that’s available.

You can check the availability of the domain name you’d like to buy at Domain Tools.

Enter the domain name you want — we’ll use JaneSmith.com as an example — press Search, and you’ll see a screen that looks like this:

The filled-in globes to the right of the name show that the .com, .net and other forms of the name are already taken. Bummer. But below that is a list of suggested similar names that are available. Scan through the list and brainstorm some alternatives. JaneSmithArtworks.com? JaneSmithQuilts.com? Type them into the box at the top of the page and see what’s available.

Buy Your Domain Name

Once you’ve made a choice of domain name, you need to buy it. Domain Tools can help you search for an available name, but they won’t register the name for you. Where should you go to do this?

Technical note: You don’t actually “buy” the name. You lease the right to use it from ICANN, who is in charge of assigning all domain names everywhere. This is why there is a yearly fee associated with your domain name.

First, a “don’t.” Many webhosting companies will include a “Free!” domain name when you host with them. Unless you know and trust the company, however, it’s always best to buy your own domain name. Some of them register the domain in their own names so that you don’t actually own it. If you decide to leave their webhosting because of problems, you will lose your domain name and all the exposure that you’ve worked so hard to build.

Now… where should you buy your domain name?

The least expensive registrar that I know of, at about $10 per year, is GoDaddy.com. They are good people and I personally have more than 100 names registered there. However, their website is extremely busy and confusing and (snob warning) it’s a little trashy with lots of pics of scantily-clad GoDaddy Girls all over it. You’ll also be subjected to really hard upsell for more services as you check out.

For clean and simple and no hard sell, I’d suggest dotEarth.com or enomcentral.com. Cost for a domain name here is $25 – $30 per year.

On to Web Hosting

Now you need some sort of hosting plan, which is like renting a space if you are planning to open a store. You’ll be fine with the smallest shared hosting plan, which is generally quite inexpensive. Plans can be found for around $5 a month and may be less expensive if you pay in advance for a year. Most webhosts have a 30-day money-back guarantee, so if you pay and then find out you can’t work with them, you can cancel and get a full refund.

I would suggest looking for a Linux plan with cPanel and Fantastico (more on that later). Several companies offer Windows hosting and some people think that because they have a Windows computer they need this, but that’s not the case. Windows or Linux is the system that the remote computer, the webhost, uses to run itself and has nothing to do with what’s on your computer.

Recommended webhosts:

–> (this is me) 2FishWeb.com

Hostgator.com

KnownHost.com

ASmallOrange.com

All offer Linux/cPanel plans, guaranteed uptime, and great customer service. You won’t go wrong with any of them. Note: These are not affiliate links, except my own site. If you choose one of the others, I get no commission. These are recommendations based on personal experience of hosts I would use myself.

Set up your web plan

As you purchase your hosting plan, you will see the option to use an existing domain name or to register a new one. Since you have a domain name already, choose that option and enter your newly-acquired domain name.

Once your purchase is complete, you’ll receive a welcome email from your webhost with your username, password, and other information including the nameserver data. THIS IS EXTREMELY IMPORTANT. Save this email — you’ll need it from time to time during the life of your website.

Change your DNS pointers

Now go back to the place where you bought your domain name. Sign in to your account and look for a link marked “Set DNS” or “Change Nameservers.” Click on that. There will be at least two boxes with cryptic names in there like “NS267.GRANDPRIX.HOSTGATOR.COM” and “NS268.GRANDPRIX.HOSTGATOR.COM.” (The NS numbers will always be sequential.)

Open your email from your hosting company and look for the nameservers they gave you. Erase the ones that are in the boxes and enter the new ones. Click OK.

Now sit back and wait for a couple of hours (possibly up to 24 hours, but usually much less). This process is like filing a change of address with the post office — it takes a little while for everybody to get the news that you’ve moved.

After that couple of hours or so, open your browser and type in your domain name. If you see a web page, even if it is blank or has a list of files on it, then your change of address has occurred and you can install WordPress.

Install WordPress

This is the easy part. I promise!

Remember when I suggested that you look for a hosting plan with Linux, cPanel, and Fantastico? Here’s why.

Sign in to your cPanel.

In your browser, type in http://YourDomainName.com/cpanel . A box asking for your username and password will pop up. Find those on the email from your webhost that I told you to save, enter them, and Submit.

You’ll see a scary screen with lots of options. Don’t worry about them right now. Just scroll down and find the Fantastico Deluxe icon — it’s usually near the bottom. Look for the blue smiley face.

On the next screen, click on Wordpress in the lefthand column.

You’ll see some information about WordPress on the next screen. Click on New Installation.

Page 1 of 3: You’ll see some information already filled in on this next screen. Important things here:

– Install in directory: blog
– Admin access data: Choose your username here. It’s case sensitive, so if you enter it as “Laura” you can’t sign in as “laura.” Do NOT use “admin” as your username. This is a security risk.
– Password: This is the password you will use to sign into your blog dashboard.
– Admin nickname: Choose how you want your name to be displayed. This does not have to be the same as the username.
– Email address and site name: self-explanatory.
– Description: You can leave it blank for now.

Click install.

Page 2 of 3: Check to make sure that everything is correct, and click Finish Installation.

Page 3 of 3: You’re done. There is an option on this page to email the installation details to yourself. This is a good idea, so do that and save that email as well.

WordPress is installed!

Next week: Recommended plugins

ps… I promised I’d tell you the Easy Way to do all this:

Or check back next week for the next steps. I promise you won’t hurt my feelings.