WordPress Websites
WordPress Websites Advice
It is a sad commentary on the human situation, but as we get better at any anything, we forget where we started. Some of us think: “I am going to remember how difficult this was, where the pitfalls are, and use that information to help the next guy.” Unfortunately, we rarely do. In fact, after we reach a certain stage, we may even think: “I found it, there is no reason that they can’t do the same.” It’s just the way things work in the world.
If this thinking was carried through to it’s logical conclusion, no one would ever receive any education, and we would probably still be working on that “wheel thingy”! The fact is, that the societies which have flourished have been the ones who took special care to record knowledge, and pass it down to the next generation. We should also do this for others, whether out of compassion, or concern for the continuation of our community.
It is with that in mind that I submit this information for your use.
I have taken care to try to remember everything, but I know that there will be some steps left out, some changes made in the interim, and other factors that will undoubtedly prove me wrong from time to time. In such cases, please bare with me.
This is done with the “newbie” in mind, so it may seem overly simplified to those of you who have been using WordPress for a while.
WordPress websites an introduction
WordPress is a great blog publishing tool, but will it hold up as a content management system?
Well, you could ask CNN, or Ford Motor Company, or one of the hundreds of thousands of other website owners who power their websites with the WordPress platform. In fact, more than 14% of the top 1 million websites today use WordPress. Yes, WordPress is a great content management system!
WordPress can be used for blogs, or by carefully using categories or pages, it can be made into a more traditional website, with it’s own blog already on board. There are hundreds, perhaps thousands of “plugins” which can extend WordPress usefulness, and thousands of themes/templates, many of them free and modifiable with a tiny bit of effort.
2 versions of WordPress, both are free, both are easy to use.
WordPress.com
If you want to simply express yourself with the least amount of effort and preparation, then WordPress.com just might be for you. To use it, all you have to do is go to http://wordpress.com, answer a few questions, fill in a little information, and post to your hearts content. It is so simple and easy that I don’t suspect any advice is needed. A big advantage of this system is that it requires no hosting or domain name purchase,the drawback is the fact that it requires no hosting or domain name.
Since this blog is hosted courtesy of WordPress, you have a little less control over some areas that may or may not be important to you. The major one is that you can not place ads on the site. If you do not want to sell ad space, then this is the one for you.
WordPress.org
WordPress.org offers a little more flexibility, but there are a few more obstacles to overcome. You will need your own hosting, and you will need your own domain name, but you will have more control in the long-run. Basic hosting can be had for around $150.00 a year, more or less. A domain name can be purchased for around $12.00 per year, and most hosting companies offer the domain registration at no extra charge with the hosting. With a little careful shopping, and a few minutes looking for discount coupons, you can probably get domain and hosting for $10.00 a month, that is, $120.00 per year or less.
Because WordPress.com requires almost no expertise beyond understanding the simple, self explanatory interface, we will be concentrating on WordPress.org.
WordPress website hosting
When using WordPress to build your site you will need hosting. Hosting is the place where your website resides. Technically it is the server that allows your website to be displayed across the internet.
Most hosting packages are pretty cheap compared to what you pay for everything else in life, especially when you see it as a tool to earn income. Basic hosting suitable for running the WordPress platform can be found for under $10.00 per month and this usually comes with a domain. There are a number of good web hosts, and we have our favorites. I have been very happy with Lunarpages, IX Webhosting, and Hostgator. The packages includes a panel that allows you to choose from a variety of different free products, and one of the most important is a “one click” installer. This one click installer will allow you to instal WordPress on your domain and hosting. They go under such names as Fantastico and Softaculous.
When signing up for hosting you will pay less for signing on to longer periods of time. A word of notice here: If you sign on for a year or more, the monthly charges for that period will probably be withdrawn from your account at one time.