Summary:
Start a blog in 4 steps: Choose a blog service and host. Then get a domain name and email.
BusinessWeek discussed how blogs are changing business, with 120,000 new blogs appearing daily.
You might want to start a blog to share your ideas, to connect with others, or to improve your writing.
This article explains how to:
- Choose a blog service.
- Choose a host for your blog.
- Get a domain name for your blog.
- Get email sent to your domain name to forward to your personal email.
1. Choose a blog service
A blog service is software that makes it easy to create and maintain a blog.
It provides an interface that is similar to Microsoft Word. It allows you to format text and insert images without having to worry about html or programming.
The WordPress interface for editing posts. If you can use Microsoft Word, you can use WordPress.
I use WordPress: a favorably-reviewed blog service that Daily Writing Tips praises as:
A state-of-the-art publishing platform with a focus on aesthetics, web standards, and usability. WordPress is both free and priceless at the same time.
2. Choose a host for your blog
A web host provides space to store files on a server and makes your blog accessible on the internet.
Start with a blog service, like WordPress, that hosts for you. This is free and easy to setup.
Later, you can further customize your blog by migrating to your own host. (There are pros and cons between wordpress.com hosting and wordpress.org self-hosting.)
I started with wordpress.com hosting; I might later self-host to use wordpress.org.
[Update: On August 14, I installed wordpress.org. Among the hosts recommended by WordPress, I chose DreamHost. Transferring from wordpress.com to wordpress.org was fast and straight forward with DreamHost.
DreamHost hosting costs $8.95 per month.]
3. Get a domain name for your blog
WordPress gives you a domain name such as “yourname.wordpress.com.” Read on if you want a custom domain name, such as “yourname.com” or “mybusinessname.com,” and if you wish to receive emails sent to “yourname.com.”
1. Search for a name. Go to GoDaddy.com and search for your desired domain name. If “yourname.com” is not available, go to “yourname.com” to see if it’s for sale.
In 2007, kevinkane.com showed a page advertising the domain name for sale. I emailed the owner and he sent me a quote for $200. I made a certified offer through Network Solutions.
The owner then transferred ownership of kevinkane.com to Network Solutions. I completed an account-information form and kevinkane.com became mine.1.
2. Choose a name. When you search for “yourname.com” at GoDaddy, you’ll see similar domain names available. Some cost money; some are free.
Pick your favorite, or use something like “yourname.wordpress.com” at your blog service. (You can get a different domain name later.)
3. Register the name. To use a custom domain name, register it with a domain name registrar.
GoDaddy is among the top three registrars, and they will register a .com name for about $9.20 per year.
4. Map the name to your blog service. When you sign-up for a WordPress blog, you receive a URL such as “yourname.wordpress.com.” Mapping a domain makes your blog available at “yourname.com” without the “.wordpress.com” portion.
I use WordPress domain mapping for $9.97 per year.
4. Get email sent to your domain name to forward to your personal email
Email forwarding sends messages sent to “example@yourname.com” to your email account with gmail, hotmail, or any other email provider.
GoDaddy provides five email forwarding accounts for $3.02 a year.
If you host your blog at wordpress.com — and if you have a domain name with a registrar such as GoDaddy — then add your registrar’s MX servers into your custom DNS records at your wordpress account. (This is easy to do.)
The GoDaddy MX servers are:
- MX 10 mailstore1.secureserver.net
- MX 0 smtp.secureserver.net
That’s all there is to it. Keep on blogging and rocking in the free world.
- I’m surprised the domain was available for sale, considering that there are 188 Kevin Kanes in the U.S. alone. The most famous KK might be Canadian singer Kevin Kane, who sings much better than me by the way [↩]
{ 2 comments… read them below or add one }
Thank you to my friend Alex (of AlexFrakking.com) who helped me learn much of the above.
Aww shucks no problem mate you’re a very fast learner!