Wordpress on Your Own Server!
Step #4 – Building Your Site with Wordpress on Your Own Server Account
In the first tutorial I told you to register for an account on Tumblr and point your domain name at it so everyone would follow your links back to that page. Why am I telling you to setup a new site with something called Wordpress? There is a method in all this…a strategy, and a lot of it has to do with getting more people to your site so be patient and you’ll start seeing the reasoning.
Wordpress is simply the best all around solution for blogging, site building and, most importantly, promoting yourself, your work and your “brand”.
What it isn’t is something you should attempt in 10 minutes. Putting a Wordpress site on your own server account also involves some minor expense on a monthly basis for your hosting account.
Having your site on your own server lacks the benefits of the Tumblr community.
So why do it? Your web presence and web site should evolve into something more than a single page of blog posts. That doesn’t mean what you’ve done on Tumblr will go to waste. (We’re going to eventually put the two together and get the best of both worlds.)
..and why host a Wordpress site on your own server? Why not use Wordpress.com? Aside from their need to charge you a monthly fee to use your own URL, an important “branding” consideration, you simply want to have as much control over your site and it’s content as possible and that’s just not going to happen on another service.
Other blogging sites like Typepad & blogger are similarly problematic. It’s not impossible to put your site there, but this is your business and you ultimately want ease of use and complete control without paying fees for things you can get elsewhere for less or free.
Sound good?
The first thing you’ll need to put up a Wordpress site on your own server account is a server account.
(You already should have your domain name registered and pointing at your Tumblr account page.)
My recommendation for a hosting is:
I’ve had many hosting accounts. Some are cheaper, some are more expensive, but the link above is my recommendation for quality of response and account features.
You want a hosting account that has the “cpanel” suite of applications…this is important!
You also want an account that is responsive and support that responds in a timely way to your contact when you’re experiencing some issues related to your account.
(I could give you a long list of hosts I WON’T recommend. Some of those are names you probably know and may think are a bargain, but are likely to result in slow response of your site or slow response to your requests for support. I’m not going to list them here…no need to go down that road. Click on the above banner to get a Hostgator account and save yourself the hassle.)
If you’re like me and most creative people I know, you have more than one idea you can market. You may have multiple projects in more than one media. You may paint, and shoot video on a freelance basis or you may be making a feature film on weekends. My suggestion would be that the site you use for your painting portfolio and visual art work is going to appeal to a different group than your feature film project and that project deserves and needs it’s own web site. There may be some crossover and some folks may be interested in everything you do. There’s nothing to say you’re not going to link these sites, but in the best interest of each project it is often best for them to have their own domains.
Do you need a separate account for each one? No, what you need is a reseller account which lets you host multiple domains for a slightly larger monthly fee (but not what it would cost if you had several single host accounts). This also lets you easily develop project domains and sell or have someone else manage them later. Think about this…do you think you’ll have need for 3 or more domains? I do. I have my personal portfolio site at wilhaslup.com, this Charm FX domain for offering ideas and working with others as well as a few more for various things I have planned. A reseller account may be something you keep in the back of your mind until later and you just don’t need now. Great! Decide what you need and get the one you feel best suits your plans.
The above ARE affiliate banners/links so for every new account I get a little bit of cash. I’m being straight and telling you that, but I also feel I’m saving you the troubles and pains of dealing with poor hosts for your site. If you don’t think that’s cool feel free to just type hostgator into your browser instead and I won’t get a dime. Either way, save yourself trouble and take a look for yourself.
The list of account features and ease of use is worth it.
You will be using your previously registered domain name when you register for a hosting account.
You shouldn’t, but if you encounter any problems doing this because you’re using it on Tumblr, just change your Tumblr blog back to the default web address of http://yourname.tumblr.com
Once you’ve gotten your host account we can move on…
Next…logging into your new host account’s cpanel, introducing Fantastico, and installing Wordpress.
-> next – Your Own Server – cpanel, Fantastico & installing Wordpress
