WordPress Website Basics - Domains, Hosting & Why WordPress

WordPress?The Platform We Will Be Using

By Ross Johnson @3PointRoss

First... Why

Thursday, April 5, 12

Why WordPress and Picking Domains

First, You Tell Me...



Have you ever...

Maintained, Managed or Modified a Website?



Have you ever...

Worked with HTML or CSS?



Have you ever...

Used WordPress on WordPress.com?



Have you ever...

Used Self Hosted WordPress?



Have you ever...

Used Adobe Dreamweaver or Contribute?



Have you ever...

Used FrontPage?



Have you ever...

Programmed in Pascal, Fortran or Assembly?



Why WordPress?



Lots of options



Drupal



Joomla



.NET Nuke



SilverStripe



Expression Engine



They all have their pro’s and con’s.



WordPress’ Strongest Attributes are...



Ease of Use



Versatility / Capability



WordPress Can Be Used to Create Many Different Types of Sites, Including:

E-Commerce SitesOnline BusinessesCat WebsitesOnline ForumsMembership WebsitesSocial NetworksClassified WebsitesOnline DirectoriesWiki’s

Job BoardsBlogsCompany WebsitesOnline PortfoliosDigital Sales WebsitesNews WebsitesWebsites About CheeseTwitter Clone



Huge Community!



Very Active ForumMost questions are answered in minutes.

369,247 million posts in the support forum.



Lots of EnthusiastsAlmost 90,000 Blogs Discussing WordPress



Lots of OptionsAlmost 20,000 free plugins!



Lots of DesignsThousands of templates! (paid and free)



The Most Popular Platform... PERIOD

72,568,703 WordPress Run WebsitesWordPress Powers 14.7% of the top 1,000,000 sites

1 in every 5 domains created in the US run WordPress



Trusted by Big Brands



It’s Free!!!



Not All Sunshine and Rainbows



Any Open Source Project Will Have Security Issues



So you need to update your plugins and

WordPress Installation



Using WordPress is easy...



But complicated functionality isn’t.



So you may have to hire a

WordPress Expert.


Domainshould I obtain?

By Ross Johnson @3PointRoss

Second... What



What is a Domain?Also called a “web address” or URL



Picking the Right Domain is CriticalIt’s your online phone number

& digital address



Things to consider



The best domains are long taken.



You will have to make compromises.



With that in mind, make sure your domain is:



Short & Memorable!



RossJohnsonSmellsMichiganCheeses.com



or RossLovesCheese.com



Get a .COM if possible!



Consider gettingthe .net and .org

If you’re building a brand...



Or you could get a .co



Double-click to edit



To find a good name, be creative!



Try using a dash (only one)



drmayonnaise.comor

dr-mayonnaise.com



It doesn’t have to be the name of your

company.



A memorable phrase!



SearchWithSam.comfor Search Ad Marketing



Or Keywords! (keywords in your domain are good for SEO)



Martin’s Recycled Shoes could be

UsedShoes4u.com



Google Keyword Tool



Add your location!

MeadowFeteMichigan.comIngenexDetroit.com

37DesignsAnnArbor.comAnnArborDogcare.com



Change Your Order

37designs.com could be designsby37.com



Small ModifiersMy37designs.comThe37designs.com37designsinc.com37designsllc.comHi37designs.com



Register for 10 years(It’s good for SEO)



Do You Need Privacy?Probably not...



Where to Register?BlueHost - Free domain with hosting!Hover.com - Easy, beautiful, $15 on avgGoDaddy.com - Easy, not good for hosting. $9.99+



Questions?Follow me on the Twitters @3PointRoss


HostingYour Website’s Neighborhood

Picking The Right


What is a Website Host?


Your Domain is Your Phone Number.Think of it this way...

People dial it when they want to reach you.


Your Website Host is your AddressThis is where you actually are

when people call.


Your Website Is Stored on a Computer

That is connected to the internet. When people type in your domain,

it dials up that computer.


Companies Charge You to “House” Your Website.

These companies are Website Hosting Companies.


WordPress is so popular most hosts support it just fine.


When Selecting, Consider...


No Windows Hosting!Select Unix or Linux instead.


Also look at:•Technical support. 24/7? Phone?•Space availability, get at least 1 gigabyte•Bandwidth, find something with unlimited•Freebies? (one click installs, e-mail, domains)


Technical Requirements•PHP 5.0•MySQL

Or Look For WordPress Optimized Hosting.


Our Recommendations:1. BlueHost2. HostGator3. DreamHost4. MediaTemple5. Laughing Squid

http://wordpress.org/hosting/




Lyndsay’s Experience


Things to save:FTP INFORMATIONftp server: ftp.yourdomain.comftp login: supersiteftp password: ch33seisgood

CONTROL PANEL INFOAccess Address: www.bighost.com/clientsLogin: supersitePassword: ch33seisgood


http://www.bluehost.com/clients

http://www.bluehost.com/clients

DNS Serversns1.bighost.comns2.bighost.com



Questions?Follow me on the Twitters @3PointRoss


WordPress Website Basics - Domains, Hosting & Why WordPress

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