How to Blog - 2/8 Go Online February 16, 2007
Posted by The Probabilist in : [Articles], Productivity, Technology, Blogging , 3 comments
Step 2 is a short and easy step and serves the purpose of providing the basics for those of you who still haven’t had a blog online. That being said, here’s today’s agenda. We’ll look into what you need to be able to run WordPress, what kind of a host you might choose, how to upload your files and how to go from there. Yes, it’s quite a beginner’s tutorial today. But let’s get on with it so we can get to the more advanced details later on.
The first part is easy. Your web host provider must have PHP and MySQL support, or else your WordPress installation won’t work because it uses the MySQL database to function. Remember to check this when you choose your web host provider and service package. If you’re aiming really high and intend to drive lots of traffic to your blog, remember that a cheap alternative on a shared server might not stand up to it. Storage space shouldn’t be an issue unless you’ll be using lots of pictures, audio and video files to spice up your blog.
I have provided a list of web host candidates that you may choose from. I can’t really vouch for any of these except the last one, since it’s the only one I’ve personally used and still using.
- Dream Host
- Blue Fur - Even the cheapest solution is said to stand Digg front page traffic.
- Go Daddy
- A Small Orange - Reader recommendation.
- midPhase
- AN Hosting - Specifically for blogs.
- bluehost
- Laughing Squid
- Planeetta internet - Just in case you live in Finland.
Once you’ve signed up, you should get the necessary login details to be able to start uploading WordPress to your web host. Make the decision if you want your home page to be your blog (insert WordPress files to the root directory) or if you want the url to be yourpage.com/blog for instance instead (upload the wordpress folder to the root and rename it to “blog” or your word of choice.
To do this, you first need an FTP application. My choice is FileZilla, which you can download from SourceForge. Run the installation and place it where you want. Run the program, choose File > Site Manager and enter the following details:
- Press the “New Site” button and give the connection any name.
- Enter your domain url in the “Host” field.
- Choose “SFTP using SSH2″ in the “Servertype” dropdown field.
- “Logontype” should be “Normal”.
- Enter your username and password in the following fields.
- Click “Connect” and you should land on the web host directory.
This is where different web host providers have different category listings. Find out which is your root directory and upload your WordPress files or your wordpress directory there by dragging them from the left window to the right. I suggest clicking on the “Advanced” button and inserting the wordpress folder directory in the “Default remote directory” to save you some time by always landing where the action is when you connect to your web host. Remember now that your wp-config.php file must have the information that works with your web host database. Run the install.php file to install your online WordPress version and pick up the login details.
Here’s a tip. I recommend having a duplicate of both your online and offline wp-config.php files in separate directories. This way you’ve got an easy copy paste solution whenever you’ve done something wrong on either your offline or online WordPress directory and choose to upload or download it all from one host to the other to get it all working back as normal again.
Whenever you upgrade WordPress to a newer version, just copy all the files to your existing wordpress folder. Refresh your admin panel and the few steps are easy to just click through.
Checklist for step 2 - starting offline
- Web host - Choose a blogger friendly solution that fits your needs.
- FileZilla - Download, install and configure to have a file upload tool.
- WP Config - Keep duplicates of your wp-config.php files for easy copying.
- Upgrade WordPress - Keep an eye out for upgrades and always install them.
Pretty basic, huh? In the third step of this workshop (Monday, February the 19th), I’m listing the most essential WordPress plugins that you should know about, how to install them, how to use them and why. They may not all suite the context of your specific blog, but there’s bound to be something new to everyone who is following along with this tutorial. I hope I haven’t bored you too much, the rest of the steps provide more value to established bloggers.
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Review Me Update February 12, 2007
Posted by The Probabilist in : [News], Productivity, Blogging , add a comment
I recently joined Review Me and was informed today that they are cutting down the payment of getting reviewed by 50 % for the end of this month. Normally, given the stats this blog has reached according to Review Me, the fee to get reviewed is $60, but thanks to this promotion you can get it for $30.
For those still new to this concept, Review Me provides a service where bloggers write a post on their blog describing another site or blog about what it’s about and provides a link to get readers to go visit it. Review Me defines how much people should pay to get reviewed based on the Alexa ranking, Technorati rank and RSS feed subscription. I’ve been a bit suspicious about the rates to advertise your blog, but it seems to be working well. If there weren’t a market for this, or the rates were off, it would fail on its own.
To get an idea of what kind of a review to expect, check out these entries that I’ve written previously.
The added bonus for getting reviewed is also that your site/blog will get added to the Recommended Resources section in the sidebar for at least three months from the date of the review. My blog’s description and stats can be found here. To get the 50 % off you simply have to enter: trial into the coupon code at checkout.
If you’re a blogger just starting out and want to drive more traffic, consider this option. I’ll do my best in giving an accurate (not too harsh ) description of your website. Go to the Review Me website, sign up and take advantage of this promotion before it ends. You may also contact me in advance about what you want me to write about and if you’ve got additional ideas of how to get your money’s worth from this.
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