Blair Evan Ball Wordpress Blog Setup Made Easy The Complete Step-by-Step Guide By Blair Evan Ball Published by Prepare1.com Social Media Professional | Social Media Coach http://www.prepare1.com Germantown, TN 38138 USA © Copyright 2010 by Blair Evan Ball All rights reserved under the international and Pan-American copyright conventions. With the exception of brief quotations in review – with proper accreditation – no part of this book may be used, reproduced or transmitted in any manner whatsoever without written permission from the author. DISCLAIMER This publication is designed to provide accurate information in regard to the subject matter covered. The author is not engaged in providing legal, financial, investment, accounting or business advice. Should the reader need such advice, he or she must seek services from a competent professional. The author particularly disclaims any liability, loss or risk taken by individuals who directly or indirectly act on the information contained herein. The author believes the information contained in this publication to be solid, but readers cannot hold him responsible for either the actions they take or the result of those actions. Blair Evan Ball is not affiliated with, nor does he represent, Facebook®.com. He is an independent consultant, coach, and active member of Facebook®.com. Please refrain from changing, dismantling, plagiarizing or reselling this e-book. Thank you. Blair Evan Ball WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy Table of Contents Why a blog…………………………………………….………………………………..…2 Free Blog…………………………………………………………………………………..3 Choosing a domain………………………………….…………………………………….4 What to avoid……………………………………………………………………………...5 Why would anyone want a hyphen…………………………….………………………….6 Keyword Rich Domain Names……………………….……………………………..…….7 Already have a site…………………………………………………………………….…..8 Buying a Domain………………………………………………………………………….9 Domain Registration……………………………………………………………..…...10-12 Hosting………………………………………………………………………….…….13-17 Setting Name Servers………………………………………………………….…..….18-19 Logging into your Cpanel……………………………………………………….………..20 Setting up E-mail………………………………………………………………….……...21 Installing Wordpress………………………………………………………….……….23-28 How to select a theme…………………………………………………………………29-32 How to install a theme………………………………………………………………...33-36 Customize your settings……………………………………………………………….37-46 Install plugins………………………………………………………………….……....47-55 Creating pages……………………….…………………………………………….….…..56 Widgets and Design…………………………………………………………….……..57-60 Checklist: Domains and Hosting…………………………………………………..…61-63 Customizing Wordpress………………………………………..……………….….…64-66 © 2010 Blair Evan Ball All rights reserved. This digital book may not be transmitted, copied, reproduced, or distributed. This is a single user license only. Wordpress Blog Setup Made Easy Page 1 2010 Blair Evan Ball WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy Why a Blog? A blog is the way to go, when setting up a website for your business (or even for personal use). Think of your web site like a vehicle. You don't want to be driving stick shift in the middle of city traffic if you don't have to, right? Using WordPress puts the “automatic” in your transmission… by providing you with a simple content management system and allowing you to update your content quickly, easily and regularly (the key to strong Search Engine Optimization). Basically it allows you to manage your own web site without having to wait for techies and without paying web developers hefty fees every time you want to change one word or paragraph on a page. You are in control. Note: In this training, I may switch between the terms “blog” and “website”. I'm using them interchangeably as the same thing. A website can be a blog. And WordPress is a free program that runs your blog (i.e. your website). So, don't let that terminology confuse you. Why choose a WordPress blog? WordPress.org is the standard. WordPress blogs are easy to update or hire someone to make changes because there are so many users. No learning to code. Post your blog posts using a visual editor. (If you can send an email, you can post to your WordPress blog.) You need to focus on driving your business on automatic – not being your own webmaster. Note: Do not confuse WordPress.org with WordPress.com. WordPress.org is the blog standard. WordPress.com is a free platform. We do NOT recommend you use WordPress.com – as you'll see in the next section. By the end of this lesson... If you’re completely new to working online, you may feel that setting up a blog will be a major learning curve. This guide will walk you through the process and help you avoid distractions, pitfalls and wasting time. The goal is to keep you from getting stuck and giving up. © 2010 Blair Evan Ball All rights reserved. This digital book may not be transmitted, copied, reproduced, or distributed. This is a single user license only. Wordpress Blog Setup Made Easy Page 2 Blair Evan Ball WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy You’ll learn how to choose a powerful domain name. You'll set your domain up on your own hosting account. You'll install your blog. You’ll find out how to quickly and easily find and change your blog Theme to one that really suits your business and looks professional. You’ll have tweaked and customized your new blog to eliminate basic security risks and rev your search engine optimization to the max. You’ll be able to write your posts in any text editor, drop them straight into your blog (easily and instantly adding enhancements such as graphics or video links) – and publish. You’ll have an attractive, highly optimized blog to attract relevant searchers and you'll be ready to turn your visitors into paying customers! You won’t become an expert overnight – but you will get your blog up and running. The first step you need to take is making sure you put your blog on your own domain. Step One: Choosing a Domain & Buying It We’re going to break this step down into two parts – choosing your domain name and buying it. You may already be asking: Why is it necessary to buy a domain when there are sites such as WordPress.com and Blogger.com where you can host your blog for free? If you have an absolute shoestring budget, where even $10 a month is a major decision, this is indeed a valid question: However, you need to be aware of several major drawbacks to free hosting… On the plus side of free blogs. You have: 1. No start-up cost, obviously. It's free. 2. The ability to network and gain backlinks from other related blogs hosted on these free sites Why You Should Choose WordPress.org Rather Than The Free Options. 1. It Shows that You're Serious about Your Business. Which looks more professional? http://petsmart.blogspot.com or www.PetSmart.com – I know which one I'd shop at. © 2010 Blair Evan Ball All rights reserved. This digital book may not be transmitted, copied, reproduced, or distributed. This is a single user license only. Wordpress Blog Setup Made Easy Page 3 Blair Evan Ball WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy 2. Building a Business Now vs. Later. If you decide later to buy your own domain, all of the networking, traffic generation, and relationship building will have to begin from scratch – promoting the new site. Basically, you'll be starting from square one. 3. Investment in Virtual Real Estate. You also will never be able to sell your blog down the road, should you want to, if you host it on a free site. 4. You Control your Destiny. On top of that, you do run a very real risk of investing much work and effort into your blog on a free site – only to find out one morning that it’s disappeared off the face of the earth. (This usually happens because either someone has complained or you’ve inadvertently violated a rule. And since the rules change arbitrarily, with the onus on you to keep abreast of the changes, it’s alarmingly easy to cross the line.) 5. More Flexibility in Making Money. Both Blogger and WordPress.com have very stringent, changeable and conflicting conditions for any sort of monetization of blogs hosted on their sites. If you are planning to use your blog as a personal diary, containing no affiliate links, advertising or selling of any sort, a blog on WordPress.com or Blogger.com is probably fairly safe: However, if your blog is a platform for your business, you really do need to choose a powerful, long- tailed keyword or focused company name as a domain name, purchase it (usually for under $10.00) and set it up on your own site. But this guide is geared to those who are hosting their blogs on their own domains, so let’s continue with what will be one of your most important decisions… 1. Choosing a Strong Domain Name Your domain name is going to be one of the most central keys to your online business success. Your domain name can be keyword-based, branding-based or buzz-based. If you plan on a strong publicity campaign, especially via social networking, and want to go for branding then by all means call your blog something that is: 1. Short enough to be catchy (no more than three words together) 2. Easy to remember 3. Unique but niche-specific © 2010 Blair Evan Ball All rights reserved. This digital book may not be transmitted, copied, reproduced, or distributed. This is a single user license only. Wordpress Blog Setup Made Easy Page 4 Blair Evan Ball WordPress Blog Setup Made Easy A great example is “funwithspot.com”. The name “Spot” (when combined with words like “fun”) is iconic: It instantly makes one think of the old beginning reader primers. You can almost instantly guess this site is: a) for kids b) about reading And the name itself is uncomplicated, scans well visually – and is easy to remember.