How to set up your web site for your writing; blogging that is
In my previous post about my friend’s interest in wanting to write her first novel, she also plans to have her own website. She is on the right track and this will help her to get back to her main interests (after raising and taking care of her family).
Having your own website as a platform for your writing is not difficult since there are much blog software that you can download and use to start writing right away. In my previous post, I posted on how I started blogging, Be The Trendsetter and now I will write in detail how you can set up your site and start your own blog.
The Technical side of having a site for your blog
Writing is easy if you just do it on paper. You don’t have to handle any technical aspects of building your site to house and display your writing talent. However, if you want to transfer your writing to be viewed online then you have no choice but to handle the technical side of having your blog be seen and read by online readers all over the world.
You can do it in two ways to set up your site for blogging: free or paid.
Free site for your blog
You can use free blogging software to start your blog right away. I highly recommend the wordpress.com for your free blog site.
Here is the list of what you need to do to set up your free blog site:
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1. Visit wordpress.com site;
2. read the information provided on their front page about setting up your blog;
3. Get ready with a name for your blog. You can use your username for your blog name. Your blog url is something like yourblogname.wordpress.com;
4. sign-up;
5. Just follow the instructions and you will all set and start to write on your first post right away.
I am not familiar with other blog softwares other than wordpress (since I am using this for my blog site), but I know a lot of bloggers out there using typepad.com, blogger.com (former blogstpot.com) and more. I am sure they are equally as good as wordpress.
Paid web hosting
Now if you would like to have a more prestigious website and thinking of branching into your other interests or setting up your home based business online in the future, then you should get your own website hosted by web host company and pay for it. I use bluehost.com to host all of my six websites including thetrendsetter.org.
Here are the steps for you to get your own web site for your blog (and other websites) down the road:
1. Visit bluehost.com by clicking on the banner below:
Since I use bluehost.com to host my sites, I signed up as an affiliate. If you sign-up by clicking the banner above, I will get a little commission from them since I am generous enough to advertise their service on my blog. But seriously, I recommended bluehost since I am using it myself and so far they never failed me.
2. Get ready with your domain name. It can be your own name or any name as long as it is still available. So your website would be something like yourdomainname.com. You can choose a different extension other than dot com. I chose thetrendsetter.org only because thetrendsetter.com was already registered by someone else.
3. After signing up with bluehost, you can download the wordpress blog software into your web account using fantastico located on the cpanel of your account or you can build your own. If you are proficient in html and other scripting languages, then you can design your own site. Otherwise, you need to learn the basic computer language like html or find a web designer to do it for you. I am offering my expertise in designing a websites and setting up the wordpress software on your site or even design your own websites.
So you are in the know about the basics in starting your own blog. It is indeed very technical and you need to get through this hurdle if you want to set it up by yourself. Good luck and let me know how you are doing.
