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Episode 1: How to get started with your very own blog.
Recently, I've been swamped with tons of questions from friends and family regarding the topic of blogging, what it is, how it works, it's advantages and how to get started. So, I have decided to write a post discussing the topic in detail.
Blogging is the term used to describe the act of writing in one's blog. Bloggers typically write about various topics they are interested in. It's not uncommon for a blog author to be involved in linking to topics or news they find interesting on the internet. A blog, which is the short term for weblog, is a website where regular entries are made in a journal and may be presented in reverse chronological order.
There are many advantages to building and using a blog verses a full blown website. A blog can be created and up an running within minutes without using advanced editing software such as Frontpage or Dreamweaver. Most of the blogging software available today contains all of the elements necessary to build, publish and syndicate information. Because of this, blogs can be much easier to maintain than traditional websites. Posts, categories and pages can all be created and edited with a simple to navigate and use menu structure. A blog may also include the useful comments feature. Allowing a visitor of your site to comment on the articles or posts you have written. Within most blogging software, there also lies the ability to do trackbacks. A trackback can allow an author to tie his or her post to an authors post on another blog, allowing visitors to view related articles. There are also internet communities developed around specific blog types such as blog carnivals.
So now you might wonder, how to get started with your own blog? First you have to decide on a blog hosting service. The hosting service or webhost provides the server space for your site or blog. I have some websites and blogs that I host from home, some through free hosts on the internet and others that are hosted from a premium paid webhost. This blog for example is hosted through bluehost. Bluehost was my choice for premium webhosting purely because of their customer service. When it comes to a paid service, nothing is more important to me than customer service. Good customer service = customer satisfaction! For the sake of this article, were going to focus on a premium paid webhosting service. I personally use and recommend bluehost on a linux server. If you would like to use bluehost as your webhost, you can sign up via the banner at the bottom of this page.
Bluehost tailors to the new and experienced internet entrepreneur. They have a variety of simple to use tools and advanced tools along with dedicated live 24 hour customer support via a toll free number (they have always treated me with respect when I call them). They also offer a free domain name (which you'll need) and will host up to five additional domains on one account. This is very useful when expanding and building a variety of blogs or sites. They even have an automated installer for WordPress and other software to simplify the install. They call this application Fantistico and it's available via the user control panel. I've used many of the blogging software packages available today and have thus far settled on an open source product calledWordPress. WordPress is what drives the Blog your viewing this article on. WordPress is 100% Free to install and use. Being open source, WordPress is also Free to modify if you decide to dabble with it's core code structure.
The next step would be to decide on your domain name. A domain name makes it easy for someone to find your site or blog on the internet by typing in a simple name example: lancelhoff.com. If your going through bluehost as your webhost, you'll want to get your free domain name right when you sign up. An alternative if you don't use bluehost, would be to buy a domain name through an alternative source like godaddy. Deciding on a domain name is straightforward and easy, finding one that is not taken can be tough. Try to pick a domain name that is short, easy to remember and pertains to what your site or blog is going to be all about.
Once you've picked your webhost, domain name and blogging software your ready to start in the adventure of blogging. If your using bluehost as your webhost, you'll login to the control panel via their main page. Then go to the Fantastico (blue smiley face icon) and select WordPress from the blogs list on the left. Now you simply click new installation. Fill in the information it asks for (leaving the install in directory blank if your only planning to install WordPress) and click the install WordPress button. When finished, you should be able to view your blog using the domain name you installed WordPress to. Once your viewing your site, you can select login from the sidebar and use the admin login name and password you set during the install. After you have successfully logged in, you can customize your blog via the options in the menu bar. Once you have the options set, I would recommend editing the default example posts and pages via the manage button in the main menu. To write new posts or pages, simply use the write button and write post or write page submenu buttons.
Once your satisfied with the look and feel of your blog and you have content posted, your ready to let your blog be known to the rest of the world. In the next episode, we talk about how to get your blog exposed to the internet.
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