After a certain amount of time the free blogging accounts that most people start out using begin to get a little stale. There’s only so much you can do to customize your site and make it your own, and after a while the sites all start to resemble one another. Plus most people have a really hard time remembering www.yourblogname.bloggingplatform.com. That’s a little lengthy compared to www.yourblogname.com.
While the difference doesn’t seem that drastic if you’re just getting your feet wet with blogging, once you’re trying to drive targeted traffic to your site it can be a defining factor. If you’re ready to bump your blog up to the next level and move from a free site to a self-hosted one, but are unsure where to start just follow these easy steps. And because WordPress is the most common blogging platform to use for self-hosted sites, this tutorial is tailored to that:
Come up with a catchy domain name. Your domain name should embody what your site is about. It should be fairly short and easy to remember.
Make sure your domain name is available. Coming up with a great domain name is just the first step though. Next you have to make sure it’s actually available, otherwise you have to go back to the drawing board.
Buy your domain. Buying your domain name is fairly straightforward and there are several websites out there that will help you purchase it for a nominal fee.
Find a hosting site. There are tons of hosting sites out there ranging in price, but some of the best are BlueHost and HostGator. Both offer reasonably priced packages for self-hosting your website.
Install WordPress.org blogging platform. Once you’ve set up your domain name and hosting site you’ll be ready to install the WordPress.org platform. You’ll just need to download it from the WordPress site and then install it on your hosting platform. From there you’ll be able to log into your account on WordPress.org and move on to the best part
Customize! Now that you have your own site set up you’re free to customize your site either by selecting a pre-designed theme or designing your own. You can also add in numerous widgets and plugins that make your site unique. Have fun with it!
Making the shift from a free blog to a self-hosted one is well worth the effort required to launch it and is much easier to do than most people initially think. If you’re goal is to have a professional, high-quality blog then self-hosting is the first step in that direction.
A guest post is by Christine Kane from internet service providers, she is a graduate of Communication and Journalism. She enjoys writing about a wide-variety of subjects for different blogs. She can be reached via email at: Christi.Kane00@gmail.com.