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Bought My Domain Name, Now What?
I need some help!
I bought my domain name at girlaftercollege.com, but I don't know what to do next.
1. Is there affordable webhosting that easily installs wordpress? Is there webhosting you can pay "per month"?
2. I decided to start writing articles and tweaking content on a practice blog (peaceudo.wordpress.com). Is this worth my time at all? Will learning how to edit the appearance of wordpress.com help me with wordpress.org?
3. I don't even know where to start with my appearance on wordpress.org. Everyone says that I need to buy Thesis. Is there a free equivalent to it? Is it easy to switch to Thesis once I'm actually ready to monetize?
I just feel lost right now... There's a program I'd really love to do, but it is like 400 or 500 dollars (http://girlsguidetowebdesign.com/). Are there any free or cheaper programs that will help?
Replies to This Discussion
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Permalink Reply by Bri Poster on -
hostgator.com is fairly affordable and you can choose to pay month to month. It is cheaper if you pay a year or two upfront though.
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Permalink Reply by Udoka Omenukor on -
Thanks for that! And where can I learn how to customize my blog's layout (specifically wordpress)? How did you learn? I'm seeking free templates that allow me to customize the sidebar with images and videos.
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Permalink Reply by Daniel Douglas on
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If you google free Wordpress themes you'll find a lot of themes with customizeable sidebars. In fact, once you install Wordpress on your host server -which can be done automatically with one click after you sign up - there will already be a 100 or themes installed for you to choose from.
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Permalink Reply by Edwin on -
why don't you try contacting whiskeycloud at hello@whiskeycloud.com ? i switched to their hosting recently and i'm very pleased with the service. I think they host quite a few bloggers so i'm pretty sure they could give you a few pointers on how to get your blog started.
And yes, learning how to work with wordpress.com will help you get better at a self-hosted blog, because the software is the same. So basically, anything you can do on wordpress.com, you'll be able to do at you self-hosted blog.
I'm not sure you should buy software for your blog just yet. Wordpress is free software and there's quite a large community of users that could help you. So i'd suggest sticking with figuring things out yourself. It'll save you a lot of money and you'll learn a lot more from doing it yourself (or at least figuring it out yourself :) )
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Permalink Reply by Cole on -
Any host with cPanel/Fantastico includes a super easy tool to install WP. I've never heard of any host that didn't allow you to purchase by month,
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Permalink Reply by Dain Lewis on -
Hey Udoka,
It sounds like your goal for your blog is to monetize it. Personally, I wouldn't waste my time with the other blog. I would write daily, but save them as a Word document and then upload those posts to your new site.
In regards to the design for your website there are free themes available. I would just google "free wordpress themes" and then and do some research if you are wanting to go free for a while.
But once you get to the point of transitioning to paying for a theme I would actually suggest buying optimizepress.
Previously I had the headway theme which was the main competitor for Thesis. I did some research and A LOT of people were recommending optimzepress. I actually just bought it yesterday and LOVE it. Here's the site with optimize press after just a day if you're curious: http://dainlewis.com/
By the way that blog is only like 2 weeks old.
I haven't even done everything with it (like add a header) but the features are really awesome in optimizepress. Especially if you're considering monetizing your blog.
Also, if you are needing advice on how to work on your website just search Youtube. It has been great training for me on how to do web design and wordpress stuff.
Don't waste your time with the $400 product. It's not worth it. There are cheaper products out there.
If you have any other questions feel free to reach out to me. I'd be glad to help.
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