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Choosing your domain name
Choosing a domain name can be tricky. Choosing the right domain name that’s easy to remember, but easy to spell, is key. I prefer a domain that contains my name and is easy to remember. So if you have two letters, I suggest using this format: jack-2.com. If you only have one letter, use: jack-2.com. Both will work, but I’ve noticed that most people don’t understand how to spell my name correctly. Choosing the right domain name for your website Picking a domain name is the first step of the process of building your own website. Create a domain name of your own choosing and purchase it from GoDaddy or Godaddy.com. Then register your domain name through the Domains by Google website. How to choose a domain name for your website Choose a phrase that you love.
Finding hosting that’s right for you
If you’re not particularly tech-savvy, getting your site online can be daunting. You can’t see the light at the end of the tunnel, and that can make it difficult to take the leap. Here’s a breakdown of the things you need to know before you take the plunge: Choosing a web host Choosing a hosting company is the first step in getting your website online. This is the company that sets up your hosting and gives you access to the internet to manage it. Your site’s hosting plan decides where your website will appear in the search engine results, where you’ll receive your traffic from, and what resources you’ll get to use for hosting.
Installing WordPress
WordPress is a popular content management system (CMS) that powers over 60 percent of all the web traffic in the world. It’s easy to use, and even beginners can create their own site in just a few hours. It’s the CMS of the web. It also happens to be one of the most under-appreciated CMSes out there. It’s easy to learn and use. To create a fully functioning site, there’s no reason to go through all the trouble of doing it yourself. If you can click a button, you can create your own website. There are a lot of templates out there that just need the basics tweaked. This guide will show you how to do that. First of all, we need a domain name that we can host our WordPress site on. It’s only polite to have a good domain name, so get a domain name that people will remember and share.
Customizing your WordPress dashboard
There are several free tutorials to help you on your way: While we’ll go over the basics in the next chapter, the most difficult step in getting your site online is to actually build it. You have to set up your theme (the software that allows you to create your website, widgets, and custom code), activate the CMS (document management software, like WordPress or Drupal), install the plug-ins, and if you’re a server user, configure your DNS settings. Why should you care? You may know the basics, but if you want your site to have any kind of longevity, you need to know how to do these things. If you don’t know how to use plugins, for example, how are you going to customize your site, or possibly even re-purpose it?
Designing your website
Is there anything stopping you from having your own website? Creating and building your website is an extremely exciting way to create a presence for your business. There are endless possibilities to creating the perfect website, and we can help you do it. Your website can be the foundation of all your marketing efforts. It’s great for search engine optimisation (SEO) too, so you’ll want to make sure it gets the right attention from search engines. Check out our special article on how to create a website if you’re in any doubt or want some help.
Setting up your blog
The beauty of the internet is that you can publish your own content at the click of a button. You don’t need to look for a publisher or a distribution agent; you can make your own website and get the traffic to it yourself. However, many people use blogging platforms to get their content out there, including Google Blogger, WordPress and LiveJournal. These sites allow you to share your stuff, and then link to it, and then eventually create your own site and sell copies of the same content through various channels. According to Joe Pulizzi, head of Web Presence Dealers (WWD) and author of the monthly newsletter How To Build A Website, in the U.S., there are over 4,000,000 websites, and this number is growing every day. Many people start with sites such as Blogger and WordPress.
How to share your website
I recommend using Shareaholic to share your website and get traffic. Here’s a screenshot of my Twitter timeline yesterday. My Twitter followers followed me, liked my page, and engaged with my content. I even made my Twitter account reach 1,000 followers. That’s a lot, but when you reach 100,000 followers, it’s like Facebook 1,000 new friends. As with Facebook, the better your content, the more traffic you will get. For example, 5 to 10,000 visitors to your website is a good number to target. Even more importantly, the more you target your traffic to your website, the more likely you will be to win the mindshare and generate the more profit. How To Track Your Traffic If you’re not already using Google Analytics, I highly recommend that you give it a try.
Conclusion
Whether you’re a budding blogger or a wannabe YouTube star, a simple domain name and blog hosting is all you need to start sharing your writing with the world.
