Hello again everyone!

Ok I am at starting point, have posted a topic in another thread about domain names, next thing is to decide whether I should start with a Wordpress blog, or just skip that and go straight to a full Wordpress website with my own domain name.

My first thoughts are the latter however, it could be a good place to start testing and learning with a blog and then expand/build out from there. I am not sure.

Why I need your help. Please?

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AB

HI Art

Setting up wordpress with your own domain name and hosting is definitely a preferable way to go. 

BUT is it the right thing for you?

If you don’t have either technical expertise, money to pay someone else, or time to learn then starting out on wordpress.com would be a good choice.

Wordpress has very good documentation and there are many more educational sites to help you with your wordpress journey. One of my favorite online learning sources is lynda.com. It’s not free, but it is very economical.

Thanks Jules!

Again super help. Linda.com as in the Adobe plus other tutorial provider right?

Wow…I did some of those awesome tutorials back in the days…I’m talking Flash version 4 on VHS back in the 80′s…ok not eighties but in web time it seems so. 2001 was the actual year.

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@arty You can always set up your website with WordPress and just create static pages to start with, leaving the option of adding a blog to it later on.  

I am a very firm believer in personal branding, and starting properly from the get-go. That said, I definitely recommend setting yourself up with your own blog/website. It doesn’t have to be complicated either. There are themes you can purchase that are simple to install and WordPress has such a user-friendly interface that you shouldn’t have any trouble.

Otherwise, if you start one way, find yourself building a following and then move your blog, well, thats a pain in the butt for you! (trust me, Ive transferred blogs before!)

No matter what you do, remember that it is the content that is the real key to your success!

Best of luck!

@melissaagnes @kristi-hines  @arty

I agree with Melissa and Kristi. Do it right from the get-go. With self-hosted WordPress, you can start with a blog, or with a website, or with both (all-in-one).

I set up many WordPress.org sites for clients who just want a simple, static “starter” website. They plan to begin blogging later. When they’re ready to “turn on” the blog part of their site, it’s as simple as clicking a button.

You can do it the other way around, too. Start with the blog, and add static pages as you go along (although I recommend including an About and Contact page along with your blog).

You should be able to purchase your own domain name for $10/year or less, and to find a good company to host your site for around $80-120/year. It’s a smart investment. 

Just a side note: with Wordpress, it doesn’t have to be just a simple starter website. Of course, that’s great to start with, but if you ever want to expand and have a more elaborate, targeted site, Wordpress is great for that too!One of my companies does web strategies, which includes designing and developing full websites for some mega brands, and for our customers who want a CMS, we always go with Wordpress. If you’re interested, I can st some links to show you what I’m talking about!I’m a true Wordpress advocate I suppose! But I have a lot of experience with it and our clients are always out-of-this-world happy!

Thank you soooo much Jules, Kristi, Dea, Melissa, Lianne, Laura, Roberta, and Hesham! I wish I knew how to do that silly little tag thing where I highlight your names and say thank you.

You all help so much and it is so nice reading/seeing your replies, just so you know.

Am taking it all on-board, I think I am going to start with a website as such, and get a domain name and web hosting service set-up and then possibly use an existing Wordpress theme etc see how I go.

Even the web hosting is a big question mark as I have heard if you have a lot of traffic it can determine which hosting company you go with, especially if you have a lot and need to pre-plan for this from the start…

I have the content, and am moving towards the idea of setting up a website so people can self-publish/contribute and share, expand the website as an open platform. Much nicer ultimately.

Anyways am thinking, thinking.

Thank you all, much love for your support. much.

AB

Thanks @Melissaagnes

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There is a very important reason to have an independently hosted  Wordpress site and blog.   It has a lot more flexibility in that you can feed it to many places.  For instance, my blog is the on the home page of my site.  It goes to my Facebook profile and it has its own tab on my Facebook company page.  It goes to my Linkedin profile and Twitter.  It also goes to other social networks and blog directories.  Once I update my blog, my brand is everywhere.  I give a lot of free advice to authors on my blog and some of the advice includes other resources and blogs.  This is a win win for a lot of people because that is the value of social media, good content available all over the place as well as networking.

Thank you all,Anyone know anything about hosting then? Traffic size vs server.I don’t know anything about it really but don’t want to have a hosting service which will crash once the traffic becomes too much. Have heard of this happening.AB

Thanks Melissa!

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AB

I think the biggest question you need to ask yourself is what is my purpose for the website or blog.Do i want sell a product or a service?Do I want to do professional blogging?Do I want to have a website in a specific niche in order to discuss topics I am passionate about.

Your target audience dictates the approach yo should take.

Factors to your success go well beyond just having a website or a blog? example;You have a unique product you want to sell on your site.You need to generate the right qualified traffic through SEO & PPC campaignsYou need to create a social media strategyYou need to create a content strategy and editorial calendar to keep you motivatedJust putting up a website is not enough anymore, you have to engage your clients or visitors on their own terms in their own space. Which means a well optimized site, social profiles, blog networks, lots of pages of content and ongoing link building….

I have decided to give up some of my social media strategies to this group in order to help newbees like yourself get a fresh start, so send me a friend request, so i can help you out anyway I can.

Thanks @Brian Mcfarlane and @Andre van Garderen

I just created a webpage and uploaded Wordpress also, so let me know (in email) if you have any questions also) it was way too hard to do something so simple.

Am not stuck and wasting my life away looking at the gubillion crappy Wordpress themes all over the internet. Everyone knows how to make a ‘crappy’ Wordpress site it seems.

If anyone knows of an ACTUAL place where I can find good themes, specifically video-based, simple, nice white and clean ones, then please advise.

I can’t believe how hard it is to find such a thing.

AB

I’ve advocated for your own self-hosted Wordpress site here before. The reasons are many and they all have to do with total control of your own site and content.
By all means, create a free account at Wordpress.com and try it out. Get used to it and how it works. See if you even like it (you will). 

It’s not expensive to buy your own domain name and pay for hosting today. Here’s some quick tips and don’ts.

NEVER buy your domain name through a 3rd party. 

If you register on a hosting site to set up a hosting account and buy your domain name through them, that’s a 3rd party. 

Why? If you ever had an issue with your hosting account, you may suddenly lose access to it AND your domain name. That means a lot of money, time and energy spent in your own site – gone. 

You can back up your site and move it, but if you lose access to your domain name because it’s locked with the hosting company for whatever reason, you are screwed. Essentially you’d be starting over on a new domain name. Or waiting to get yours back. I have seen this happen to clients before, it’s not pretty.

Eliminate the problem and buy the domain name from a registrar. I recommend Namecheap.com. I’ve used them for years and recommend them to everyone I know. Easy and free to set up. Just pay your domain name yearly fee and forget about it. 

Find CPanel hosting

It’s very user friendly and you can install WordPress with a simple click of a button. The built in File Manager is easy to figure out when you need to change file permissions or otherwise see the files on your site.

Some hosting companies design their own site/file managers or account managers. This means you have an instant learning curve to figure out how to use THEIR system. Sometimes it’s not worth the time or effort (or stress!) to end up having to learn a suit of programs just to be able to manage your own site. Bravenet and Plesk come to mind. If you are familiar with them and recall using them as a first timer, you’ll know why I mention them lol.

CPanel hosting is very common, you should become accustomed to it quickly. If you ever need to move to another host, a cpanel copy can be made and the new provider can easily reinstall your entire site at the new location. Quick and easy transition.

I recommend Hostgator.com. Their customer service is exceptional. I get a response within the hour usually. Anything I “break” myself, they fix and educate me if I ask how I broke it lol.

I have had dedicated servers and/or reseller accounts at Hostgator for 8 years or so now. They run on Green Energy too.
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I could probably think of a lot more but that’s a lot to think on already I’m sure

Charles! I quite agreed with you that a self hosted site is a much nicer place To be.if a site hosted by you could be placed under suspension Because of spam,what would have happened when such blog is in a public site Like Blogger.com or Wordpress.com? It would have definitely been pulled down and That’s how your whole lots of contents would have just been a waste.The truth of Of the matter is that you have full control of a web space fully hosted By you than a free one..