How to put a blog on your own domain name

Mar 8, 2008

How to put a blog on your own domain name

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Blue Ribbon Blog You’ve probably seen Wordpress blogs over at Wordpress.com or Blogger blogs over at Blogger.com but have you also seen blogs at specific domain names as well? Well, okay, that’s probably like saying, you’ve probably seen a car in a parking lot and a car on the parkway but have you also seen them (gasp!) in a driveway as well?

Tons and tons of sites nowadays are being built with Wordpress - the blog IS the tool the owner uses to build their site. Sure, you’ve probably seen:

But did you know sites like:

are powered by Wordpress as well?

The reason why I wanted to give you these examples is to open your mind about what a blog on your own domain can encompass. It’s not just a platform on which you can hold forth….it gives you the opportunity to build a world-class site for brick-and-mortar businesses as well.

So! With that as an introduction, let’s immerse ourselves joyfully in the excitement of getting and putting a blog on your own domain name.

DO THIS FIRST). Figure out the domain name you want to use.

Well, it kinda sorta does make sense, right? You can’t put a blog on your domain name unless you know what that domain name it!

There are many ways to choose a domain name. Here’s 3 ideas:

Use your name. If your name is available online, GRAB IT! You don’t have to stay with the .com version either - if , say, BillGates.com is taken, consider BillGates.net or BillGates.info or BillGates.biz or, if you’re Bill Gates, just buy the entire Internet.

Spin a sentence! Visit Domainsbot.com and type in a short sentence like:

Beam me up

you might see suggestions like:

BeamMyselfUp.com
BeamMyselfUp.net
MyBeamMyselfUpOnline.com

Here’s another example:

FL orange growers

could return

FlFruitGrowers.com
FlOrangePlanter.com
FlOrangeSpreader.com
FloridaFruitGrowers.net

You could have quite a fun time with a domain name spinner.

Use your blog hobby. Do you want to blog about model horses? Fantasy football? Raising parakeets? Cooking with chili peppers? You can use your theme to craft a domain name like:
- Breyer-Model-Horse.com
- FantasyFootballParadise.com
- UltimateParakeet.com

Is your blog name taken? You can tack on a location like so:

NJModelHorses.com
TexasWoodcarving.net
BayAreaBuilders.com

There are many articles on choosing a domain name that take into account Search Engine visibility, Search Engine Optimization (SEO) etc. Check out:

Once you have a domain name, you need to take care of two critical issues - buying the domain name (this is generally a yearly fee) and then finding a webserver on which to host it. Sometimes you can get both at the same place.

Step 1). Buy your domain name.

There are more places online to buy a domain name than there are screaming children at a 3 ring circus! I personally use GoDaddy.com myself but you can consider other places like our own SmartInternetEdge. When you buy a domain name, you’re basically registering the use of that name for a year or more.

Step 2.) Find a webserver for your domain name.

You can think of a webserver for your domain name like an office for your business. You ARE your business…but an office can provide you with a desk, a phone, a roof over your head, protection from thieves etc.

A webserver is similiar - you ARE your blog, but the webserver provides you with the space in which to install your blog, tools to help it grow, spam protection, etc.

So! If you don’t want to spend any money, you can opt for a free no-ad account at DotEasy. This site gives you some space and no banners! I’m also the webmaster for my karate dojo and have been using that account now for months - it works quite well.

Next, you can consider NewWebSite - readers of my blog can get a special discount of hosting at $4.95/month. I can’t say enough good things about this provider; I’ve been with them since 2004 and service has always been sterling. Highly recommended.

Other places to look/and or learn more are:

Keep in mind that many webhosts will allow you to order domains through them, so you’ll be able to both register your domain name AND host that domain at the same time.

Once you have a webhost, you have to tell the Internet where your domain name can be found. Your webhost will provide you with two DNS servers (domain name servers) - you MUST enter these into your domain registration account if it’s already not done for you. And that brings me to:

Step 3.) Enter your DNS into your domain registration record.

If your domain registration account is NOT on your web hosting account, visit now your domain registration account and browse to your domain name, and then "DNS Servers." Type in the two DNS servers Step 2 provided you.

Wasn’t that simple?

And finally, to put a blog on your own domain name, we arrive at:

Step 4.) Install wordpress on your domain.

Many webhosts will provide you with automatic blog installation! Check with your provider to see if that’s the case. If not, installing wordpress on your domain is very easy to do! Refer to

Installing Wordpress

for the complete instructions. If you’d like some help with uploading and such, check out my post, how to soup up your blog with themes and plugins.

And that’s how you can put a blog on your own domain name. I hope it’s been helpful. Do you have any questions? If so, jot ‘em on down below and I’ll see how I can help you.

ThankYouVeryMuch!

Owlbert

(By the way, if you have any questions about the topics in this posting "How to put a blog on your own domain name", do comment below - I'll try to clarify any issues).

Barbara Ling and Owlbert

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