Last week, we looked at wordpress and its many benefits; some of which include extending it beyond being just a blog.
The reality is that wordpress today is first and foremost a blogging software. So for the benefit of those who have never set up a self-hosted wordpress blog, we would cover how to set it up, bearing in mind that an extra level of tweaks might be required to make it a more professional website.
Steps to setting up a wordpress blog
• Draw up a plan
Planning is essential for the success of any venture. It is important to start by drawing up a plan for your blog. What niche/industry would you like to cover? What audience do you wish to target? Would your blog be for pleasure, business or a cause?
Remember that the more competitive your niche is, the bigger the level of work required to become relevant in that niche.
In 2009, when I started blogging, I started with a plan, which helped me stay focused.
• Choose a domain name
What name would you like your website to be called? Your organisation’s name (i.e. www.punchng.com) or your full name or initials (i.e. www.cfagbata.com); this really depends on your preferences. Without a domain name, you cannot host your blog.
• Select a good host
Your host is like a landlord, who rents out a portion of his house for profit. In other words, when you pay a hosting company, you are taking a small space within its infrastructure, which becomes yours, based on the agreement.
Your success as a blogger is also dependent on your hosting provider. When selecting a host, there are a number of things you should look out for, including experience, policies and level of support.
Avoid hosts who are unfriendly to Nigerians.
• Install wordpress
In the past, you would need to download wordpress from http://wordpress.org/download/ and then go through some technical steps such as: creating a database for wordpress on your server, adding your secret key password before uploading to your server, etc. But this has changed with the introduction of auto-installers. You do not have to bother about all these technical stuff today, all you need is a hosting company that allows you to use auto-installers such as Softaculous (more about this tool in future).
• Install plugins
Plugins are really what make wordpress thick. With the right kind of plugin, you can achieve just about anything with your wordpress blog.
However, you need to avoid the temptation of installing plugins that are unnecessary because you can expose your blog to hackers.
In future articles, I will discuss the essential wordpress plugins that you need.
• Choose a theme
WordPress allows you to select any theme of your choice, which becomes the front view of your blog. There are thousands of themes to choose from. Some are free, others are paid for, while some are more sophisticated than others.
These are the basic steps required to step-up your blog. There are other steps to make your blog world-class but those already highlighted will surely get you started. Over the next few weeks, we would discuss other elements and strategies that would not only get you started with wordpress but help you to gain more mileage.