For the fast version of this class go to my post below, for the slower, step by step version keep reading
blogging 101 overview and a real deal review BlogTutorial
So, you have your domain name, or two or three. If you haven’t chosen one, we will back track in a bit, ask questions if you like. But for today, let’s say you have decided and purchased. If you have chosen one with godaddy.com I can take you through the steps. If you have gotten it somewhere else (and there are plenty of options) you might need to check with the company you are using. Which brings me to this disclaimer. I use the companies I do because they are reputable and offer good customer service. There are lots of good domain and hosting companies but if you want to be assured your site is up and running you had better pick a big company. Anybody, I repeat anybody can buy space on who knows whos hosting account and start their own hosting business and it may be here today and gone tomorrow. I have seen it happen. So buy reliable. Kind of like buying a car. If you want to be able to find parts buy a Ford or a Chevy. A fancy import that gets 90 miles a gallon will not get you anywhere if the motor goes out and you can’t get parts. So I say all of that to say, the companies I use are not the only ones out there, and yes, some of their advertising is worldly and I hate it, but they are some of the best in the business. I would strongly advise against getting any hosting that advertises huge amounts of space or bandwidth for anything less than $7 a month, unless they have been in business for more than 10 years. There are some really cheap companies out there but rarely any reliable ones for less than that. It is a sorry sorry day to spend lots of time on a site only to find it completely missing in action some morning when you turn your computer on.
What about free hosting? Do your visitors a favor and do not subject them to that, free hosting sites will infect your visitors computers with so much adware and spyware they may never recover. It is not a friendly thing to do.
So, for these lessons I will be sharing how to start a blog with your own domain name from godaddy.com and hosting from hostgator.com . Hostgator is well known, reliable and gives good customer service. And it is always there when you need it. They are not the only option, but they are the one I happen to work with. So that is your next step. Get a hosting plan. For these lessons if you don’t go with hostgator you will need one with a Cpanel control panel and Fantastico to automatically install your WordPress program. I would suggest their $7.95 a month plan.
I can recommend one other good hosting company that I have not personally used but I know many that do. Bluehost comes very highly recommended. It has everything you need from what I see and has been around long enough to be reputable.
Next up, how to make your domain name and your hosting account find each other.
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