How to Publish a Blog

This is part of a series in creating a blog. Previously, we talked about the first two steps which include creating a blog file and guidelines in choosing the best name and domain for your blog. If you have read my previous post, you must be ready now with a list of blog names/domain names. Create a Blog: A Beginners Guide

Let’s check now to see if those domains are still available.

1. Go to godaddy.com and enter your first choice of domain. Don’t worry about the dollar signs you will see on the page. Checking the availability of a domain is free. You don’t even need to have it registered. Later on, I will show you how you can have your domain registered for free. All we need from godaddy is to check your domain’s availability.

As you run your list on godaddy, it will offer other suggestions if your choice of domains are not available. Follow these guidelines when your chosen domain is no longer available.

• Avoid plural forms of names. For example, your choice is ragdoll.com but it’s not available and the system suggested ragdolls.com instead. People use singular terms when searching online. So if somebody else owns ragdoll.com, you could lose a lot of opportunities.
• If .com is no longer available for a certain domain, the system will suggest .net, .org, .biz, etc. Remember that an average user frequently uses .com, but if it’s not available, you can go for .net and avoid any other domain types.

2. Find a host

To serve your blog on the Internet, you need to have it hosted. There are different web hosting companies you can find on the Internet but one that I recommend is Hostgator because of its world class service. They serve all kinds of customers from freelancers to Fortune’s top 500 companies. If you search online to see what other bloggers think of Hostgator, you will find it hard to see negative comments about them.

I strongly recommend Hostgator for the following reasons:

• Cost wise. Other companies find it hard to beat their $3.96/month offer.
• Free domain registration
• Excellent customer support
• Less downtime
• Easy WordPress installation

You can check my previous post about Hostgator to learn more about it.

3. Prepare your blogging program

Your blog platform or program is the backend of your blog. This program is like any word processing software where you create your regular updates, upload videos and images, and install other software or plug-ins to enable other functionalities on your blog. For most, this step is the most intimidating part of the process. If you haven’t got any technical knowledge, you could face a very challenging task. But don’t worry, I had mine installed with just a few clicks on my mouse and I’ll show you how.

We are going to use a free program – WordPress.

Reasons Why Bloggers Use WordPress

1.Flexibility
Whether you are creating a fancy portfolio, an eCommerce site to sell your products, or a straight-forward blog, WordPress makes it easy for you. Since it is supported by world-class developers, you can easily find free plug-ins that you can install on your blog to enable functions depending on your purpose.

2. Speed
How many times do you click off from a webpage because it’s taking forever to load its page?

WordPress has the potential to load your page in as quickly as one and a half second. A plug-in called W3 Total Cache, which you can only install on WordPress, can make it happen.

3. Community
WordPress is an open-source program backed by brilliant developers. Each day, you will find new applications that can make blogging easier. As the world of Internet develops, so does WordPress. Unlike any other programs, WordPress will never be outdated in terms of technology.

Are you ready now to use WordPress? Let’s have WordPress installed in quick easy steps in my next post. Beginner’s Guide to Install WordPress