Starting a website Part 2, select domain name, other minor tasks

By this point you are likely very serious about starting a website.

For those of you just joining, you may want to read Starting a website Part 1, Get a web host.

If you have been following along, you've already secured your hosting and are ready for the next step.

Select a domain name. That means your website will be www.yourselectedname.com.

You can choose a .net or .biz, however, if the name you want is available, I'd recommend you choose .com. 

Spend some time thinking about what name you want and make it relevant to the topics of your blog.

If your blog is going to be about ice cream, for example, then you want to incorporate the words ice cream in your domain name. Perhaps bobbysicecream.com or besticecreamnewyork.com or some variation.

Don't make it too complicated. Simple and catchy is best.

To register your domain name on Dreamhost, you will need to sign into your account.

Once signed in, simply click the tab on the left that says, Manage Account.

Scroll down to the section titled, Domains Registered.

Since you are just starting out, it will be empty so simply click on Register New Domain.

There will be an area on top for you to enter the name of your choice and to check availability of the selected name.

You will be walked through a straight-forward process of entering you information and when you are done, you will receive a message that the transaction is completed.

You will also see a message letting you know that it will take a few hours for the domain to be registered.

In the meantime, since you have some time, check out the WordPress themes from the official theme repository.

They are completely free, as is everything other than the hosting, and you will need your selected theme for the next step.

Spend a little time looking around at the themes.

You can preview each theme to get an idea of how it looks.

Your goal should be to find something that you think will work for you so you do not have to spend countless hours on customizing.

I'd also recommend that you use the WordPress filter to search for themes.

Useful options to consider include custom backgrounds since just changing the background color can really give your site personality.

Do you want a right sidebar, a left one, or none at all?

Find a few that you like - perhaps 2 or maybe 3 and download them to your computer.

Do not unzip them.

So far you have obtained hosting, registered a domain and have selected a theme.

The next article, Part 3 in the series of Starting a website, will walk you through installing WordPress, adding a user to your account and  installing your theme.

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Starting a website Part 1, Get a web host

Over the past two years, I have spent a lot of time researching how to create a quality website or blog and, let me tell you, there are what seems to be thousands of tutorials out there, but none really provided me with the detailed yet easy-to-understand information I wanted or the step-by-step directions that I needed.

Fortunately, I had the time to research and I also found enormous support on a number of forums where I could ask all the questions I wanted.

If you have read any of my previous posts, you will know that I wanted to create a web presence and I wanted to do it professionally and not just throw something together.

Money was a big consideration too. I had been un-expectantly laid-off from my job and from there things went downhill including accumulating enormous medical expenses so my goal was to develop my site and, as thing improved, I could then consider investing money to improve my site.

If you've been searching for help, you have probably found that many other sites will focus on the mindset one should have and the topics you might want to cover before starting your website and, although I might cover some of these topics at a later times, I would think that you already have that part down so this series of articles is focused on the more technical side of things - in easy-to-understand language and with easy-to-follow instructions.

Sign up for web hosting

You need a web host.  This platform that I am writing on is blogger and, much as I am a HUGE Google fan, this site did not even get off the ground for years because, for me, as someone starting out, I found the wordpress platform much easier.

Also, way back when blogger wasn't even owned by Google and it was difficult for me to get started,

I could have signed up for a free wordpress account at wordpress.com and many people do, but I didn't go that route because I knew I was serious about starting and maintaining a website.

I wanted my own name such as www.yourname.com rather than www.yourname.wordpress or blogspot.com. 

Now there are plenty of people who have signed up for free hosting and a free site somewhere and then, as their site became popular, they moved it somewhere else but I could not be bothered with that. 

I did not want to be bothered with that.

That would just be a big extra step with yet another learning curve and extra work and, like I said, my goal was to do it right the first time.

I researched a number of hosts. I am very computer proficient but have never administered my own site so, in addition to being not too expensive, the main qualities I wanted in a host was the ability to:

• set up my website easily
• have access to 24/7 assistance
• provide room to grow

As I started searching for web hosts I was overwhelmed by all the offerings and after much research, I decided on Dreamhost and I have never looked back.

I've been with them for over two years and now operate a number of websites on both shared hosting and private hosting.  

For now, if you are just starting out, shared hosting on Dreamhost  is the way to go, and, it's the most economical.

So that's obviously who I recommend.

You can check out their offerings at Dreamhost and if you use the promo code CWBLOGSPOT1, you will receive a discount off their already low prices and have the ability to interact with me by leaving comments and I will try to help you too.

So, the first step is to secure web hosting.

At this point, if you are not experienced, I would not recommend installing anything or securing a domain name, just lock in your web hosting.

The next installment will cover selecting your domain name and setting up the mechanics of your website.

Diary of Starting a website Part 2

Tapping Into My Reflection (Photo: christianyves)

In my long ago previous post, Diary of Starting a website Part 1, I talked about wanting to start a website for as long as I can remember.

And it's true. I really did.

Being a good writer, or so I am told, and possessing the natural gift of gab, I figured it would a piece of cake.

I was wrong.

Between work,  family and a attempting to have social life, it didn't leave much time to properly devote to running a quality blog or website.

Properly is the key word here.

I've seen websites thrown together in minutes, some good, many just so-so and I wanted to have create a quality website and not just make money

During this time frame, I had changed jobs.

I'm not really one to change jobs too frequently, however, it was a great opportunity in a related field and some travel was involved so there was even less free time to devote to website.

And then - - - I promptly got laid off.

That really rocked my world because in the business I was in, there are agreements signed and it basically meant I could not work for a year.

Not good.

Being the eternal optimist or at least trying to be,  I told myself it was the perfect time to start a website.

There were so many factors to consider though.

Being out of work, I had to watch my pennies, and as you will later find out, the term, "When it rains, it pours" totally applied to me, but not in a good way.

After losing my job something happened to me that I can almost guarantee has never happened to anyone else and it resulted in huge medical bills and the inability to walk. It was very painful and I could not even think, let alone attempt to create a website.

Many more months passed and I was just starting to feel like Chellie again so I decided to forge ahead with my plan to create one or more blogs and had a number of factors to consider such as:

• Where do I start?
• Should I purchase my own domain name?
• What about hosting?
• How exactly do I create a quality website?
• What topics should I focus on?
• Would I administer the website on my own?
• What about security, SEO, social media and advertising?

After spending a good amount of legwork investigating and researching I was ready.

The next series of articles will cover how I went about it and will provide detailed information about my experience and how you can start a website all by yourself on the cheap if you have the time and the perserverence..

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Diary of starting a website Part 1

For as long as I remember, truly years, I've been on the internet or at least a networked system of computers.  Even before it was popular or cool, I was a "techie". And proud of it!

When blogger first came out, I thought, "Oh this is so cool, I want one".  So I secured the name Chellie's World, played around a bit and between work and life promptly forgot about it.

The "Dancing waters" fountains at Bellagio

Actually I would go back to it time to time but really never did anything with it. I'd look at it and maybe even made a few postings but never really "got into it"

Living in Las Vegas has it's perks and one of those perks seems to be that you are always busy.  

Seriously, there is just so much to do.  Not even the crazy stuff that many might think you always do if you live in Vegas.

I must admit that it is truly different than living anywhere else. Most of the people I know either love it or hate it. There seems to be no in between. I'm one that luvs Las Vegas. And I'm a hardcore former New Yorker so that's saying something!

One of the many things that is great about Las Vegas is that it doesn't matter that what hours your work.  Even if you work what is typically known as the swing shift and get off work at let's say 2 or 3 in the morning, there is still plenty to do. It doesn't matter.

An old shot of Downtown

Being in the crux of the hospitality industry, many people have to work all of the holidays.  Even if you are in management, many still do because so that is time that when we are are super busy so it is all hands on deck.

It's just an accepted way of life and you simply adjust.  Many Las Vegans even develop their own quirky ways. Let's say Christmas falls on a Saturday and you're working.  A typical conversation between 2 friends will go something like this:

Friend 1:  So what are you doing for Christmas this year?

Friend 2: Oh, we are celebrating Christmas on Tuesday.  Both Lou and I are off that day so we'll be exchanging gifts Monday night and celebrating Tuesday.

The town is truly 24.7.  Not like when I lived in New York and the bars closed at 4am. Looking to have a drink at 4am?  Take your pick.  The casinos are all open 24/7 and so are the bars.

Hungry?  You can get snack or a full course dinner 24/7.  Maybe you need to do some mundane grocery shopping.  No problem since nearly all of the major supermarkets are open 24/7.

So between working and living, blogging wasn't the first thought on my mind.  I wanted to. I really did.  I have the natural  gift of gab, write well and am pretty outspoken and smart too - - at least that's what they tell me.

And then something happened to change all that.

Stay tuned for Diary of starting a website Part 2.