how do I get started with Wordpress blog?

[GT Bulmer]

... My intention is to change the look of my website and maybe, just maybe, to make it a wordpress website, completely.

One day...

Hi, Tanny:

I can see that that is the direction I am heading too, based on all the good things I hear about Wordpress. As you said ... one day ...

GT

[MichelleJ]

Hi GT,
Thanks for your kind words.
My intention is to change the look of my website and maybe, just maybe, to make it a wordpress website, completely.
One day...

Hi Tanny

You made a good decision on starting a Wordpress blog. I think that once you get used to it you are going to love it.
I am with you on the idea of changing it to the look of your website and making your website totally wordpress. This is something I would love to do, but am definitely not technologically good enough to do by myself. Would have to get help for it, so at the moment am leaving well enough alone.

MichelleJ

[christew]

If you are looking to add functionality (aka plugins) the learning curve is not bad even for someone starting off but sometimes you may need the functionality to look and behave slightly different than "out-of-the-box" and you may need some knowledge of HTML.

But even if you don't have HTML & PHP knowledge wordpress is so widely used and easy to work with you'll be able to pick up a developer to handle maintenance, new features etc. at low costs. There's very good wordpress developers out there that charge $10/hr in developing economies.

[Anelly]

My blogs are all made on a Wordpress platform but as you were saying that you are not ready yet to buy a domain, you can register a free blog on Wordpress.com. With the time i think you will be able to export your posts if you decide to register a domain on the Wordpress platform. Regarding the comments and posts, these can be easily be edited or deleted. It worth giving a try. If you have other questions just let us know.

[christew]

My blogs are all made on a Wordpress platform but as you were saying that you are not ready yet to buy a domain, you can register a free blog on Wordpress.com. With the time i think you will be able to export your posts if you decide to register a domain on the Wordpress platform. Regarding the comments and posts, these can be easily be edited or deleted. It worth giving a try. If you have other questions just let us know.

It costs less than $10 to buy a domain, and $10/mo hosting. At such low costs I can't see why anyone would not start with their own domain when using a site for business.

If you put it off you risk:
- weakening your brand as your site name will change when you do finally move to your own domain.
- forfeit full control of your site and content while not on your own domain. Its rare but hosted wordpress platforms have been known to delete or lose content.
- Mess up search engine rankings when you finally do the domain switch. If your site is busy this can represent thousands in lost revenue.

[GT Bulmer]

Hello:

I like the reasoning for buying a domain as presented here by christew. If you are serious about developing your business, why wouldn't you set up a domain?

Even if you are not sure how serious you are, the cost is so low, what have you got to lose by setting up a domain, even if it is for a short time to test the waters?

The only real challenge is selecting a domain name that covers all of the bases as far as site optimization goes, while still maintaining a unique identity. But that is a small problem. Just go for it!

GT

[Anelly]

If you put it off you risk:
- weakening your brand as your site name will change when you do finally move to your own domain.
- forfeit full control of your site and content while not on your own domain. Its rare but hosted wordpress platforms have been known to delete or lose content.
- Mess up search engine rankings when you finally do the domain switch. If your site is busy this can represent thousands in lost revenue.

I think the problem is not buying a domain and hosting but setting up the site with the chosen design on Wordpress. I think she needs to outsource the process because cannot handle this by herself and this costs more than $20.

[christew]

I think the problem is not buying a domain and hosting but setting up the site with the chosen design on Wordpress. I think she needs to outsource the process because cannot handle this by herself and this costs more than $20.

Wordpress is extremely well documented and very easy to use. If someone can already sign up to a forum and doesn't have a problem with following clear instructions then installation should not be a problem. Most hosts offer a one click install of wordpress.

Avoiding it now is really just putting of the inevitable.

If the installation really is to difficult or you don't have enough time to do the install (although it shouldn't take more than a few hours for s first timer, 5 mins for someone experienced), then you can hire someone to do it. For under $50 you could have someone install, set up a theme and give you some introductory help getting setting up. Elance or Rentacoder are good places to hire people for this job, just hire someone fluent in English with a good track record.

The biggest problem with your own hosted wordpress domain (as with any self hosted site) is hacking. You need to keep wordpress updated regularly, and the update is a little bit more complicated than the install. But again you can hire someone to do updates, 2-3 times a year would be plenty, and would cost under $50 each time assuming you don't have a relatively basic wordpress setup. but always get backups of your database first.

I recently got a more complex wordpress site upgraded, which had lots of plugins and a few custom tweaks. I got that upgraded for $75 from a highly rated developer (so prices are above average due to their credibility) and also had it upgraded in a test environment first since it was high traffic, before being rolled out on the live site, and a written log of everything that was done.

For a more simple, out of the box solution, that has a highly tweaked and ultra simple wordpress interface I'd recommend Thesis - http://diythemes.com/ - its $87 - That will simplify the upgrade process on a complex site since the Thesis team makes sure everything is working and up to date. You'd still need to do the installation and updates yourself, but the support team is there and there's also a forum for members so another way to get help.

[WebBizIdeas.com]

Hi,

One of the easiest ways to get started with a wordpress blog is to go to the website ThemeForest and by a wordpress ready CSS/HTML design template.

As an owner of a web development company my usually answer is to plan, research, wire frame, design, implement software, and market. But, most of the times when friends or family just need a quick website built fast for $0.00 I will refer them over to theme forest, have them pick a design, and have my programming team install it.

Wordpress's admin is easy to learn and they can do the rest. That would be my recommendation.

Jeff

[MichelleJ]

I recently had my website converted to a Wordpress blog and I am still in the process of getting the bits and pieces set up the way I want, but I must admit that I am thoroughly enjoying working with it. For people like me who are not too good on the technical side of things this is an absolute win as it really is easy to make changes without knowing too much about html.
I would highly recommend for anyone who has never used wordpress to give it a try.

MichelleJ

[David Hurley]

I agree that anybody thinking about starting a Wordpress blog should buy a domain name and set up a hosting account.

When choosing a hosting account, make sure it is one that is set up for Wordpress and includes an easy installation script such as "Simple Scripts".

Two web hosts I'd particularly recommend for Wordpress are Bluehost and Hostgator.

[Rita]

GoDaddy is another hosting company that works in conjunction with WordPress.org and makes set up a snap.

For those of you entrepreneurs who are hesitant in setting up a WordPress blog due to time constraints or for whatever reason, I can help you with that. Setting up WordPress blogs is one of the services I provide, as well as maintaining it for you. Contact me for more information.