WordPress Web Design – How to Create a WordPress Website in 7 Steps

by: ed. - May 3rd, 2010   Filed under: Blogs and Blogging Add Comment
wordpress web hosting4 WordPress Web Design How to Create a WordPress Website in 7 Steps
Herman Drost asked:

WordPress is a great solution to create a or website. This is because the software is open-source (free), easy to install, customize, maintain and is search engine friendly. One of the biggest problems site owners have is how to set up their WordPress website. This can be achieved within a few minutes by following the steps below.

How to create a WordPress website in 7 steps

1. Register your own

Although you can create a at WordPress dot com, I recommend registering your own domain name so you will have more control over it and you can brand your business. Select a domain name that is short, easy to remember and includes your business name or a related to your business.

2. Select a web hosting provider

A web hosting service allows your website to be displayed on the web. Choose a web hosting plan that has sufficient disk space and bandwidth to host your website files. Get at least 50 MB of space and 3 GB of bandwidth and make sure you have the option to upgrade your hosting plan should you need more space and bandwidth. Make sure your Web hosting plans include the installation of WordPress. Check tech support service by calling or e-mailing the company to see how fast they respond and how friendly they are.

3. Install WordPress

Log into your web hosting administration panel (domain.com/cpanel) and look for the Fantastico icon. Click on this icon, and look for the WordPress link. Clicking on this link will install the WordPress software in a folder on the server. It will ask you for the name of your site, where to install it (domain or subdirectory) and provide a password to log in to the admin panel of the website.

4. Select a theme

There are hundreds of free and paid WordPress themes on the net. Google “free WordPress themes” to receive a list of themes to choose from. Choose one that suits your business and download the zipped files to your computer desktop. Unzip the files, then upload the new theme to the themes folder on the server (wp-content-themes) using FTP software (e.g. Filezilla, SmartFTP). Login to the admin panel, click on “appearance” to select your new theme then click “add new.” Refresh your browser to display the new theme.

5. Optimize your website for the search engines

Click on settings –permalinks and check “custom structure.” Insert /%postname%.html and save your changes. This enables your web pages to have search engine friendly addresses. Every time you create a new post or page, insert your keywords in the title and content so the search engines spiders will index your content. An alternative way to optimize your content is to install the all-in-one SEO pack plugin.

6. Promote your website

Here are 10 methods for promoting your site:

Write good quality content Write and submit articles to article directories Offer a newsletter or e-zine Encourage interactivity by responding to comments Submit RSS feed to RSS directories Submit blog to Blog directories Add social media icons to make it easy for visitors to share your content with others Create videos of your content and submit them to video sharing websites Write a press release and submit it to press release websites Submit your website to online directories and search engines

7. Track your visitors

You web hosting plan usually includes site statistics which tell you how many visits your website receives, where they are coming from and the keywords used to find your site. View these statistics regularly to track traffic coming to your website.

WordPress Web Design How to Create a WordPress Website in 7 Steps
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A Simple Guide To Choosing A Domain Name

by: ed. - April 26th, 2010   Filed under: Internet Marketing Add Comment

There has been much debate on which factors are the most important when determining what domain to purchase. Choosing a should be deeply tied to the business plan and the vision of the company. A domain can be chosen for its advantages in Search Engine placement, a company’s brand, or as a description of a general term. One must consider a domains size, pronunciation, how memorable it is, and if the name is taken in other similar forms or extensions. For example, if one registers a domain.net, but the domain.com is taken and developed, creating a brand for domain.net would be very dangerous and might end up being confused for its .com counterpart.

Search Engine Placement Domains
The purpose of these domains is to rank high in the search engines, because the actual domain name contains the keywords being searched for. Search Engine domains are very rarely brandable, and are mostly used exclusively as side Internet properties to redirect traffic to the main site. A company who sells red widgets would benefit from acquiring red-widgets.com and redwidgets.com , because it is natural that people will remember such address, but most importantly, that domain name has a high probability of ranking at, or very near to, the top of a search for ‘red widgets’. A very popular tool used to find what is being searched for on the net is: Overture Keywords (http://inventory.overture.com/d/searchinventory/suggestion/)

Brand Domains
When coming from the offline business into the online, the obvious choice for brand domains is the offline brand name as .com and/or .country extension. Country extensions are used in countries were there is more popularity in their country extension than on the .com. In the case that no previous brand existed before moving online, one most be very creative into the approach of a brandable name. At this point, there are millions of domain names registered and many times, one finds that the desired domain is taken. There is a consensus among most Internet domain experts that the shorter the domain, the better. A domain that is about 5 letters long is highly desirable for a brand. However, the domain must sound right as well. Xyqpt.com would be undesirable, because it cannot be easily said or remembered to the general public.

General Term Domains
In the height of the Internet Bubble, general term domains were the most popular choice. Many companies failed, even though they had the generic word for their market. Companies like TheKnot.com refused to purchase Weddings.com, because they were conscious that they needed to focus on brand. Although this strategy worked for TheKnot.com, generic words have a value of their own that cannot be ignored. Like Search Engine Placement Domains, which attract a large number of visitors through search engine referrals, so do generic word domains. For this reason, generic word names are still very much desired and their value continue to rise. What should be learned about the Dot Com Bubble is that generic domains are not everything in a dot com business, rather they are a valuable (yet, not essential) component in an array of variables that make an Internet business a success. The current value of these domains, and other domains in general can be seen at an online publication that covers recent domain name transactions at: Domain Journal Sales (http://www.dnjournal.com/domainsales.htm)

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How to Set Up Your Blog – Using Fantastico to Set Up Your WordPress Blog in Just a Few Minutes

by: ed. - April 24th, 2010   Filed under: Blogs and Blogging Add Comment
how to set up a blog How to Set Up Your Blog Using Fantastico to Set Up Your WordPress Blog in Just a Few Minutes
Elisabeth Kuhn asked:

Would you like to set up your blog in just a few minutes. You can, if you have Fantastico. Read on to get the step-by-step instructions.

First of all, you need Fantastico. You’ll find that in the C-panel of your webhost provided you have a webhost that includes that program. If not, consider getting one that does.

Next, you need to go to your control panel. So type in your , and then add a forward slash and the word “cpanel.”

Once you are logged in, you’ll find your control panel with a bunch of little pictures divided by headers. Go down to almost the bottom of the page, and there is a header called Software Services.

Right in the middle, in the second row, there is a smiley face. That’s Mr. Fantastico, your new best friend. He will help you set up WordPress in seconds.

So the next thing you do is to click on Fantastico. On Fantastico’s home page, you’ll see a navigation bar on the left hand side. Find Blogs and then WordPress, and click on that. This will be take you to the WordPress installation page.

Next, click on new installation. You’ll see a little scroll bar for the domains you have on your account. Select the domain name where you want your blog installed. If you have a new account, there will only be one domain name.

Right underneath that, there is an option that says, install in directory. If you want it on the main domain, you leave it blank. If you want to put it in a subdirectory, for example in one called “blog,” then type that into that field. Make sure that the directory you specify does NOT already exist, or else, Fantastico will get mighty confused.

Next, add the administrator access data. You can call yourself admin, or whatever, and you need a password.

Next, add the admin nickname, which is how the world will see you.

Then, you type in an email account, your blog name, your short description for your blog. Make sure the email address is one that you actually check, because that’s where it will send email to you if they have issues. Note that you will be able to change all of these later.

Once you’ve done that, you simply hit install, and it will install it.

After it’s installed, it will offer to send you an email about it. Make sure to type in an email you’ll actually check and will have access to.

And with that, you’re done! You now have a installed.

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What’s the best way to set up a blog and attach it to my own domain name?

by: ed. - April 16th, 2010   Filed under: Web Hosting 1 Comment
setting up blog32 Whats the best way to set up a blog and attach it to my own domain name?
a link to the past asked:

I’d like to host a with no ads, along with my own domain name. Any host / domain recommendations are appreciated.

Requirements:
1) looking to spend < $100 / year
2) no advertisements
3) my own

Anything I’m missing? Ask and I’ll post more details.

Thanks for your help!

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Setting Up a Hosted WordPress Blog – How You Can Start Blogging Easily in Less Than One Hour

by: ed. - April 11th, 2010   Filed under: Blogs and Blogging Add Comment
setting up blog8 Setting Up a Hosted WordPress Blog How You Can Start Blogging Easily in Less Than One Hour
Connie Ragen Green asked:

Setting up your own does not have to be a technology nightmare. Whether you are using Typepad or WordPress, you can have your site up and running within an hour or so. There are so many step by step video tutorials available that you will be amazed at how simple the entire process really is.

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