Setting up a blog for the first time may appear to be a daunting task, but it’s not really that complicated. The first thing you need to do to set up a blog is to get a domain name. After deciding what domain name your want to use, go to GoDaddy.com and see if the desired domain name is available. You should use a “.com” domain if it is available. If it’s not available you will have to determine another one to use. After you have decided what domain to use, you should go ahead and buy it. They usually cost about 10 or 12 dollars per year. You don’t need any of the other options that are available at GoDaddy, like the hosting. You just need the domain name itself. After you have made your purchase you can move on to the next step.
In this step you will need to set up a hosting account. There are lots of places on the web to get hosting, but I use and recommend HostGator.com. If you are only going to have one domain name, the Hatchling Plan will be a good plan to start with. The longer the term you sign up for the cheaper the hosting will be. For example, if you sign up for 1 year of hosting, the rate will be about $6.95 per month. Although they actually charge you for the whole year once you make your purchase.
The Hatchling Plan will have what you need to get your blog up and running; cPanel and the automatic installation of WordPress using Fantastico. After you have placed your order, you need to keep up with the email you receive. It will contain the nameservers that you will need when you go back to GoDaddy. When you have logged back in to GoDaddy, click on the domain that you are using and find the link that allows you to set the nameservers. Then you select custom nameservers, then you put in the nameservers you received in the email. You will need to input the information from nameserver1 and nameserver2. You don’t need to worry about nameserver3. Then you just need to click OK and tell it you want to change the nameservers.
Now you need to go back to HostGator and log into your cPanel. The log in details should be in the email you received from HostGator. When you first log in to cPanel it will ask you if you need help, you can just tell it no for now. You can go back and look at this information later if you want. You can scroll down close to the bottom under software/services and click on the icon for Fantastico De Luxe. This is a utility that will help you install software on your domain.
Next you just need to find WordPress on the list on the left and click on it. It should be close to the top. The first page that comes up will give you a brief description of WordPress. All you need to do is click on new Installation and it will go to the next page.
On the next page it will show the domain you are installing WordPress to. Then you will need to fill in the Admin Access Data, which includes the user name and password. This will be the information you will use to log into your blog. Next you need to fill out the Base Configuration, which contains the Admin Nickname. You can put your name here. Then put in your email address. Next you can give it a Site Name and description. (This will be the title and description of your blog). Then all you need to do is click the Install WordPress button.
Then you will need to click the Finish Installation button and your blog will be installed for you. You should now be able to type in your domain name into your browser and your blog should come up. Congratulations, you have a blog!
Setting up a new blog sounds complicated but it’s a lot easier if you make a lot of the decisions before you start setting up your blog, like deciding what domain name you will use, and who you are going to get to host it. Another thing you can do is to write the information for your About Me page so that you will have this information to put on your blog after it gets set up. It wouldn’t hurt to go ahead and create a few blog posts to put in too.
