Ditch your Blogging Training Wheels
by Kerflop and OMSH

So your free, hosted blog solution has treated you pretty well. You've gone from barely knowing how to operate e-mail to publishing your unique thoughts on the world wide web. You've even tinkered with your template design and
training wheels on flickr
managed to add links and buttons to your sidebar. Your audience has grown beyond your sister and your mom and you're ready to move beyond free blogging tools.

You'd like to spread your wings a bit, grow up a little and get your own domain. One that's easy to remember. With a publishing platform that's easier to customize. We applaud you. And? We're here to help.

On day two of the Blogher '07 conference, Heather and I are going to walk you through the sometimes intimidating process of leaving the comfortable, but often frustratingly limited hosted blog solutions during our lab segment; Taking your Blog to the Next Level in Section #2.

We would love to get an idea of how many of you would be interested in attending our hands on and interactive lab session. So raise your hand and give us a shout out if you'd like to leave Blogher with a grown up, shiny new blog on your own domain!

What would be great for those of you who are interested in attending - but certainly not required - would be if you'd be brave enough to take a few steps on your own before you get there. It'll allow us to dive right into the meaty bits: Installing Wordpress on your own domain. (We can help with other blog tools as well, but our greatest experience lies in Wordpress). If you'd like to help us cram as much as we can into our hour and fifteen minutes follow these (fairly) simple steps:

  1. Skip on over to GoDaddy.com and purchase a domain name. If you're nervous, you can follow our step by step guide. It's almost like we're right there, holding your hand!
  2. After you've done that, you're going to need to purchase hosting. We use and highly recommend Liquid Web. Order their shared hosting plan for $14.95 a month. Once again, you can follow the web hosting tutorial here if you'd like.
  3. You're nearly there! Your host will send you a welcome letter with some very important information in it referred to as your DNS or Domain Name Server address. Follow these very important instructions to set your DNS. Doing this in advance will allow your domain and server to "get to know each other", so they'll be all ready for us come Blogher.
  4. Make sure, when you come to Blogher, you BRING THAT WELCOME LETTER. It's okay if it's saved on your laptop, we'll need your cPanel access information so we can walk you through setting up your very own Big Girl Blog.

Important: if you decide to go with a different domain registrar and host, make sure the host offers what your blog platform of choice requires.

Now, if this is still too intimidating for you, never fear. We'll help you from the ground up if need be.

We hope to see you there!

Kerflop and OMSH
Come to our lab session, Transitioning to a Self-Hosted Blog, in Chicago at Blogher '07!

Photo credit: Teira Joisu

Submitted by Kerflop and OMSH (view blog) on Thu, 07/19/2007 - 23:57

Comments

 

Dreamhost & Wordpress

I use Dreamhost, it is great for non-tech people, they have a whole series of 1-click-install programs one of which is Wordpress. I think their prices are pretty good as well.

****
GenPink | A New Generation of Women

Submitted by elysa on Tue, 07/24/2007 - 09:25
 

Question?

I have Globat
 and no matter what I do, I can not figure out how to get WordPress on it (even though it is an easy one step process). Can I do your session if I have Globat?

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at Women 4 Hope and Informed Voters

Submitted by Catherine Morgan on Thu, 07/19/2007 - 21:10
 

Catherine, certainly! We

Catherine, certainly! We made a recommendation for hosting based on our personal experience and because we are often asked, but ANY web hosting company that fulfill the requirements for Wordpress (MySQL db, etc...) will work.

But yes, come on ... we'll walk you through - or at the least, get you started.

Submitted by OMSH on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 07:32
 

Thanks, that sounds great!

Thanks, that sounds great. I'll look forward to meeting you.

Contributing Editor Catherine Morgan
also at Women 4 Hope and Informed Voters

Submitted by Catherine Morgan on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 07:36
 

Such great timing for

Such great timing for me.

I've been banging my head against the GoDaddy hosting all week after registering a domain for the new travel blog I plan to launch, http://www.momvoyage.com

Submitted by karriew on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 02:05
 

karriew, one thing about

karriew, one thing about GoDaddy is they offer both Windows and Linux hosting. You'll want a Linux server to get the most out of Wordpress. Do you know which you have? If you aren't sure, call in and find out - if you're windows, request they switch you and you'll be able to save your head from future bruising.

If that isn't the issue - what part of the GoDaddy hosting is frustrating you?

Submitted by OMSH on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 07:34
 

Hate GoDaddy and Wordpress!

I want to know who has had success with GoDaddy and Wordpress and what the secret is! We've had nothing but trouble getting blogs set up using their hosting.

We switched to Bluehost and had the blog running in 2 minutes. (and have been that successful with every blog we've run on Bluehost - I think there are 5 right now.)

(And here's something odd, my daughter bought server space at "Pages Garden" years ago and it was easy to set up wordpress there, too!)

~Denise
Fast Times @ Homeschool High & Flamingo House Happenings

Submitted by Denise on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 02:51
 

Denise, I agree that GoDaddy

Denise, I agree that GoDaddy doesn't make it easy - I had to dig to get the db information I needed and I don't particularly find their site easy to navigate.

We don't recommend their hosting - we only recommended registering a domain there.

I've found that any web host with cPanel makes the job easy squeezy. Even without cPanel, as long as you have FTP access and a Linux server, it is a really quick process.

Submitted by OMSH on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 07:37
 

I looked into Bluehost when

I looked into Bluehost when I was shopping around for web services, and ultimately settled on Dreamhost. WP was easy it set up, and it's inexpensive: about $10 a month compared to the $14 a month I was paying Typepad for less space. The downtime keeps me from recommending it.

  • Five Dollar Camera
  • Hypnotizing Chickens

    • Submitted by kperfetto on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 13:58
     

    I've heard that's a common

    I've heard that's a common complaint with Dreamhost. I know Liquidweb is more expensive, but I have been very happy with their uptime.

    Jessica
    kerflop

    Submitted by kerflop on Mon, 07/23/2007 - 16:17
     

    Not a fan of GoDaddy but love Wordpress.

    I recently got my own domain from GoDaddy and went with Midphase as my host. Midphase had the "one click" Wordpress install and once I familiarized myself with all of the new things like FTP (gasp!) and CSS and scary stuff like that, I really started to like Wordpress.

    I really wish that I was going to Blogher...sniff..sniff.
    I wanna take my blog to "the next level". :(
    You guys will just have to make sure that you write profusely about what you saw and heard so that I can live vicariously through you. :)

    www.TasteLikeCrazy.com

    Submitted by Tastelikecrazy on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 03:29
     

    GoDaddy/WP

    I host my site on GoDaddy and it's a Word Press site. I don't love GoDaddy because their site is so hard to navigate, but I've had pretty good service from them when I call in for help.

    I got help installing WP from my nerdy brother but I'd sure like to be able to do the upgrades myself. And once WP was installed? Wow, I love it SO much. SO much.

    Nerd's Eye View

    Submitted by Pam on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 05:40
     

    GoDaddy

    Just a quick note, many women do not like GoDaddy because they feel its ad campaigns are sexist (especially the Super Bowl ads), and also the owner's pro-life politics. I'm not saying that all women would object to one or both of these, just that some do.

    If anyone at the session is interested in Movable Type, I'd be glad to share what I know.
    __

    Flooded Lizard Kingdom
    All Access Blogging
    Heroine Content

    Submitted by Skye on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 05:57
     

    Thanks for your input Skye,

    Thanks for your input Skye, I really enjoyed your accessibility piece last year.

    We can help set up Movable Type blogs as well, we're just focusing on Wordpress as we've got the most experience in that area.

    Jessica (Kerflop)

    Kerflop and OMSH
    Come to our lab session, Transitioning to a Self-Hosted Blog, in Chicago at Blogher '07!

    Submitted by Kerflop and OMSH on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 09:25
     

    GoDaddy Registrar vs. Hosting

    GoDaddy's hosting is a pain in the arse for WordPress (it's kind of a pain in the arse for anything), but it is a quick simple way to register a domain. I can understand that some feel their ad campaigns are sexist (they are), but they're a cheap and simple registrar. Note: Kerflop and OMSH aren't recommending GoDaddy hosting.

    I use BlueHost for my host and they've been great.

    Submitted by glossyveneer on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 07:38
     

    RE: Wordpress hosting

    Andreas Viklund (popular WP template designer) switched to SiteGround last year. You can read about his move here:
    http://andreasviklund.com/blog/site-news/new-hosting-plan-signed/

    -Bob
    bobafifi.com

    usedviolins.com

    fluteplayer.net

    Submitted by bobafifi on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 08:07
     

    I use Siteground for one of

    I use Siteground for one of my sites, the cheap price is alluring, but you do have to pay them to be able to back up your website if and when you decide to move. I dislike that kind of nickel and diming. Also, $5.95/month sounds great, but you can only get that price if you pay for 2 years in advance. Which is fine for some, not fine for others.

    Other than that, they've given me decent customer service and they do have easy Wordpress install.

    Kerflop and OMSH
    Come to our lab session, Transitioning to a Self-Hosted Blog, in Chicago at Blogher '07!

    Submitted by Kerflop and OMSH on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 08:26
     

    GoDaddy has worked fine for several of my
    non-tech savvy clients

    I have numerous clients with little tech skill who have easily been able to set up WP with GoDaddy. They do offer a "simple" set up process. Use the Linux economy hosting package and you'll be all set. However I also encourage everyone to choose a webhost that you'll be happy paying money to.

    Quick instructions for setting up WordPress in GoDaddy
    Log in to your control panel for your hosted domain, then find the "Content" menu and click on "Metropolis." Within Metropolis, in the left-hand column, look for WordPress and click on it. Follow the step-by-step process and you'll be set up in minutes. Remember to write down your username and password so you can log in once it's set up. Note: If you want your blog to be in the main directory--www.your1blog.com--delete the word "wordpress" in the setup process. If you want your blog to be in a subdirectory, type that name in in place of "wordpress"--www.your1blog.com/blog would mean you would type in the word "blog" instead of "wordpress."

    If you'd like a copy of my step-by-step instructions (PDF file with snapshots of the corresponding images you'll see on screen), email me at shonnie (at) shonnielavender (dot) com with "WordPress installation instructions" in the subject line.

    See some of you in Chicago! Peace,
    Shonnie

    Shonnie Lavender | Coach, Author, Speaker
    MyBlogCoach.com | Lavender Log | I Do! I Do! Blog

    Submitted by coachshonnie on Fri, 07/20/2007 - 17:56
     

    Thank you for all the responses!

    Thank you for all the responses.

    Please note:
    ** Skye has offered services for moving from a self-hosted blog to Moveable Type.

    ** Coachshonnie has offered a download for installing WordPress when hosting with GoDaddy.

    ------

    Jessica and I realize we cannot cover it all in this short lab session, so please do hook-up with the above Blogher attendees if you have questions in their area of expertise.

    And in case it isn't clear, we have given a recommendation ONLY for hosting based on our personal experience, but we can assist with installation of WordPress with any Web Host that fulfills the PHP and MySQL requirements for the latest version:

    **PHP version 4.2 or greater
    **MySQL version 4.0 or greater

    Wordpress gives its own recommendations here.

    In addition, WordPress provides a cookie cutter letter you can send to your web host if they don't play nice with the current version of WordPress here.

    We are very excited about being at Blogher and helping whoever needs us.

    Submitted by OMSH on Mon, 07/23/2007 - 16:15
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