So you’ve decided it’s time to kick your blog up a notch by hosting your own WordPress site. Here are a few simple steps to getting started:
1. Choose a host
Read some reviews or ask your friends for recommendations. A few popular ones we have had great experiences with include:
2. Pick a domain
Name your blog and see if some variant of that name is available as a .com, ideally. If it’s a business, you can use .biz. If you’re setting up a portfolio site and yourname.com is taken, you can always buy a .me. Domains generally cost about ten dollars a year. You can purchase domains from your web host.
3. Buy a hosting plan
Unless you’re expecting a ton of traffic, start out with the cheapest option. You can always upgrade if you need to. Basic hosting plans usually cost less than ten bucks monthly. Make sure to pick a UNIX or Linux server.
4. Install WordPress (simple version)
Once you have your domain and a hosting plan, log into the control panel of your web host and look for a link to something along the lines of Install Applications or Open-source Applications or anything relating to Content management systems. Here you’ll be able to install WordPress quickly and easily to your site. If you can install WordPress this way, skip the next step.
5. Install WordPress (difficult version)
In extremely rare cases, you won’t be able to install WordPress the easy way. Maybe your host doesn’t offer the option or it isn’t working for some other reason. No worries, you can install it manually without too much trouble.
Download WordPress from wordpress.org. It will come as a .zip archive. Extract all the files and upload them to the root directory (/) of your website. You can usually do this in the web host’s admin panel. Look for anything relating to FTP. If you’re a techie or can’t find it in the panel, you can also use Filezilla, a simple and easy-to-use FTP client.
Once the files are there, go back to the web host’s control panel and find something that looks like Database Manager or something relating to SQL. You’ll need to create a database for WordPress to use. Give it a name (“yourdomain_wordpress” is a good one) and a user/password (remember all this info!).
Lastly, open a browser and navigate to the domain you bought. Follow the instructions and input your database information. A few clicks later, you’re finished. Now you can log in at http://yourdomain/wp-admin or by clicking login on your new site (in the section called “Meta”).
6. NOTHING. Congratulations, you’ve got your own WordPress site! Now you can start adding plugins, themes, or anything else you want. Here’s a couple resources to help you out:
Taking WordPress to the next level [PDF]
Top 7 things you should do when you first set up a WordPress site (Fantastic place to start)
Google AdWords keyword tool (Great way to discover what your niche is searching for)
Google Analytics (Useful tool to track readership and site statistics)
How to customize header and title tags in WordPress (A few SEO tweaks)