In the past, one of the best ways to install WordPress in Hostgator was through Fatastico. I’ve heard from some fellow bloggers though that this has stopped working for them. Others have also remarked in the past that Fantastico just wasn’t as straightforward as they would have wanted it to be.
Today, there is a faster and easier way to install WordPress. You can now use Quickinstall in Hostgator.
1. First thing’s first, you need to make sure the nameservers of Hostgator have been specified in your domain registry account.
2. Once that’s done, go back to Hostgator and click on Addon Domains. Fill in the details in the Create an Addon Domain section, generate a password and click Add Domain.
3. Go Back to your Hostgator dashboard and click on Quickinstall.
4. In Quickinstall, click on WordPress on the left hand sidebar. Click Continue, locate the domain you want to install WordPress for from the dropdown menu and fill in the blanks with the information required.
The video is a recording I did last year when I moved a domain from GoDaddy to Namecheap. Some have been asking me how to do this so I thought of sharing my old video.
There are many reasons why bloggers and site owners might want to learn how to transfer a domain name. In my case I just felt that Namecheap had a more user friendly system and, yes, cheaper rates and better special offers.
Here are the steps I followed as detailed in the video above.
1. Login to your GoDaddy account and click on My Account.
2. Click on the Launch button next to DOMAINS.
3. Click on the domain you want to transfer.
4. Click on the Locking icon. Untick Lock domain(s) and click OK. click OK again.
5. Go to Domains>All My Domains and click on the domain you want to transfer again. Next to the word Locked should be Unlocked.
6. Click on the Send by Email link next to Authorization Code. Click OK, then OK again.
7. Make sure Privacy is Off.
8. Go to your email inbox and open the email from GoDaddy.
9. Login to your Namecheap account. Go to Domains>Transfer a Domain.
10. On the white box that will appear, type your domain name (minus http://www.) followed by a coma (,) and then a space. Then copy paste the Authorization Code (EPP Code) that GoDaddy sent to you via email.
Make sure you use your Authorization/EPP Code from GoDaddy as soon as possible. If you don’t it might expire. If it does and your transfer gets rejected, you will get an email informing you about this. Just go back to GoDaddy and submit a ticket to get help with your Authorization/EPP Code.
11. On Namecheap, click Start Transfer then Add to Cart. Click CHECKOUT.
12. Read through some options provided by Namecheap. If you wish, you can Enable WhoisGuard and Automatically Renew. Once you’ve set your options, click Save and Continue.
13. Choose your payment option (Funds, Credit Card, Paypal) and pay.
14. Namecheap will send you another email. Open that and click on the link they tell you to click.
15. That will take you to another page with information about transferring your domain. Down the bottom click I Approve and then the SUBMIT button.
16. Wait a few minutes and go back to GoDaddy My Account. Click on the Launch button again.
17. Go to Domains>Pending Transfers. There should be an Accept or Decline link next to the domain you want to transfer. If it isn’t there, you need to wait longer.
18. Click on the Accept or Decline link. On the pop up box, click on the link Accept/decline transfer now>>.
19. Tick Accept then click OK.
Important Note: You will not always be able to transfer your domain at any time that you please. Registrars have restrictions and you will not be allowed to move your domain when it is close to its renewal/expiry date, when it is very new or when you’ve just changed your registrant information. Make sure to check Go Daddy’s restrictions on these before you attempt to transfer.
A personal email address is a luxury that allows users to communicate both professionally and personally on a daily basis. As with everything, however, it must be secured at all times to guard against malicious content. Spam is one of the top complaints that all users have when it comes to the functionality of their email accounts. These types of email can clog up your inbox and sometimes trick people which can lead to a virus attacking the contents of the computer. Below are some tips and tricks to assist you in securing your email from the constant attacks of unwanted emails and viruses.
1) CREATIVITY
Always create an email address that is unique and that doesn’t contain any personal information. An email address that contains any parts of your name or numbers that have meaning, such as birthdays or mailing addresses, should be avoided at all costs. These types of email accounts can assist spammers in cracking through into your personal information and possibly causing more harm than good.
2) PRIVACY
It is vital to have an email address that is completely private from outside sources. This email address should be used for all contact with family and friends and any other information regarding your personal and professional well being. Most advisers would suggest having one email for personal use, one for business use and one for sporadic use that involves mailing lists and websites.
3) SOCIAL NETWORKING
Never sign up for social networking sites with any email addresses that are important to your daily life. The best option would be to enroll in any social networking site with an email address newly created for this purpose. The reason for this new email is that social sites always have third party games and applications that are always looking to post or notify others on your behalf. This opens up your email to sending and receiving spam as well as possible malicious attacks.
4) NEVER REPLY OR UNSUBSCRIBE
There should never come a time where you acknowledge a spam email. Whether it be sending a reply email to a piece of spam or clicking on a link that states that you are requesting to unsubscribe, this notification raises an alarm to all hackers and spammers. This simple reply signifies that this email address is in use and is valid and opens up your inbox to an over abundance of unwanted emails and solicitations.
The above tips should assist all email users in avoiding the unwanted hassles of spam on a daily basis. There are numerous websites that allow for the creation of an email address at any time so when all else fails, you always have the ability to close and create a new email at any time.
This article was submitted by Danny Wilson, an internet blogger and internet security specialist from North Carolina. Danny is a blogger for northcarolinainternetproviders.com
Before you install WordPress, make sure your host’s name servers are already entered in your domain registrar account. There is a separate tutorial for that if you have yet to accomplish this.
Follow the video instructions above or the steps below to install WordPress in cPanel using Fantastico.
1. Login to your cPanel account. You should have received your login details from your host through an email.
2. After logging in, navigate to the Domains section and click on Addon Domains.
3. Type the new domain name minus the www.
4. Specify an FTP username. Save this information somewhere. You will need this if you need to edit your site using an FTP tool.
5. Specify a password or, if the option is available, click on Password Generator. Copy the generated password and save it along with your FTP username. You will also need this for site editing through FTP.
6. Click Add Domain.
7. Click HOME to go back to cPanel Home.
8. Go to the Software/Services section and click on the icon Fantastico De Luxe.
9. In the Fantastico dashboard, go to the left sidebar and click on WordPress.
10. Click on New Installation.
11. On the dropdown box for Install on domain, choose the domain name where you want to install WordPress.
12. Specify an Administrator username, Password, Admin nickname, Admin e-mail and Site name.
13. Click Install WordPress.
14. Copy and save the MySQL database and MySQL user specified for your site. You’ll need this in case you later want to transfer to another host or to transfer your blog files and database to a new owner.
15. Click Finish installation. Copy and save the your WordPress login URL, username and password.
You’re done! You can start tweaking your WordPress settings and start blogging now.
After buying your domain name from a registrar, your next step is to look for a host which will store all your blog files for you. This is more for bloggers who opt to have their blogs run on WordPress.org instead of Blogger.
Just like choosing a domain registrar, it’s important that you also carefully evaluate your hosting options. Choosing the wrong host can be catastrophic for your site. Examples of issues or problems that can stem from bad hosts are:
frequent hacking incidents due to poor server security
loss of site files with no option to recover them
poor to no customer support especially after a serious server problem
poor uptime
Of course, no host is 100% perfect and immune to problems, but a one host can mean a world of difference to another and good hosts usually weather technical issues better than others. To choose a web host, here are some basic considerations that you should have in mind:
Uptime / Reliability
A host should be able to guarantee that it’ll be up for close to 100% of the time. The reason for this should be obvious. If you’ve got a popular site with a steady stream of visitors, you’d want your site to be around when they get there. Uptime rate is even more important if your site offers a service or sells a product.
Customer Service
You should want to be with a host that will quickly reply to your tickets or have a working live chat service. HostGator is one of those services that has such a feature so you get instant access to a customer service representative when there’s a problem. Ideally, customer support should also not just help you resolve possible issues but be able to address technical questions for you as well.
How do you find out if a host has a good support system if you’ve never tried them before? You can search for reviews on your host options. You can’t miss mentions of bad customer support. Customers are bad to complain a lot about this in forums, blogs and review sites.
Security
Hosts with servers that aren’t secure are always vulnerable to hackers. You’d be lucky if you get hacked but retain your core files and databases. A severe attack on a badly protected server can easily result in the loss of everything on your blog.
If you’re not a techie, it’s not easy to figure out if a host has secure servers or not. Again it would be a good idea to conduct a thorough Google search on your host prospects.
Ease of Use
Different hosts offer different ways for users to setup sites and manage databases, emails and files. If you’re not a tech expert and you’re new to blogging, go for a host that offers cPanel. This is perhaps one of the most user friendly options.
Data Transfer
In some quarters this is called bandwidth, although experts point out that this is not an accurate term. To make things simple, it’s best to understand the concept by remembering that this is related to the amount of traffic and downloads allowed for your site. The more visitors and downloads you expect to get on your site, the more bandwidth you need.
Some hosts offer unlimited bandwidth but there is no host that can truly provide this. Those that advertise unlimited offers have assessed that it’s safe to offer “unlimited” because most site owners never really consume a lot of bandwidth. Once your site grows in popularity and hits a certain ceiling though, they’ll let you know you’re already consuming too much of the so called unlimited bandwidth.
If you don’t plan to amass hundreds of thousands of followers, it’s okay to go for reputable hosts that offer “unlimited” bandwidth. Or you can go for a host with a limited bandwidth package and then just upgrade or move on to one that offers more when your visitors have increased. Just keep in mind though that moving from a small host to a bigger one can be technically difficult if you’re not naturally good with technical details.
Storage Space
Just like bandwidth, some hosts offer unlimited storage. Again this isn’t entirely true. Hosts bank on the idea that most site owners don’t consume a lot of space. When you do however reach whatever the limit of unlimited is, you will find yourself unable to store more files or publish posts.
Again, you can start with a small storage space plan and then upgrade later or move to a host that offers more.
These are only some of the basic points to think about when choosing a host. The more technically oriented bloggers however might also want to consider such factors as access to .htaccess, secure servers and permission to install scripts. For now however, you can just focus on the factors mentioned above to choose your first host.
As I explained in a previous post about Blogger and WordPress, there are times when I do prefer Blogger over WordPress. Naturally though, when I do have to set up a Blogger property, I’d go for a custom domain name instead of the default free option that comes with the .blogspot.com extension. A custom domain address looks cleaner, more professional and is easier for people to remember.
To learn how to set up a custom domain from Namecheap in Blogger, watch the video or read the step by step instructions below.
1. Sign up for an account in Blogger.com. Just follow the account creation wizard which will prompt you to fill in some pieces of information. At first you will have to take a free .blogspot.com blog address/URL.
2. Go to Namecheap.com. Log in and go to the My Account tab. Choose Manage Domains from the dropdown menu. Click on the domain name you want to set up with Blogger.
When you’re absolutely certain you can overcome the challenges of blogging and you’re ready to begin, the first semi technical step to get started is to choose your domain name and to have it registered.
Choosing Your Domain Name
Bloggers have a variety of reasons for the domain names they choose. Most have personal considerations influencing their choice. Those who have been online longer however and those who are more or less acquainted with the ropes of online publishing choose names with one or both of these considerations in mind:
keyword match for easier search engine optimization (SEO)
strong potential for branding
SEO Considerations
If you’ve found this post without reading my previous posts on market and keyword research, it’s best to go read those posts first to help you understand the importance of incorporating keywords in web pages and blog posts.
There is currently a common belief that if your domain contains keywords that are frequently searched for by members of a market, it stands a chance of ranking better in search engine results pages.
For example, because my domain contains the keyword “blog guide”, it stands a good chance of appearing on search engine results when someone searches for the phrase.
Keep in mind however that the inclusion of keywords in a domain name is only one factor and is by no means the biggest determinant in getting sites to appear on search results. Also, because SEO is an ever changing field, keywords in domain names may or may not remain determining factors in search results in the future.
Domains For Branding
There are also bloggers that snub the use of keywords in domain names and choose their names based on branding considerations. This simply means they want a name that is so unique that people will eventually be able to quickly recall and associate it with their business.
Domain Registrar
Whether you choose a keyword-based domain name or one that carries your brand, you need to get it from a registrar. There are many registrars out there. Two of the most popular ones are Namecheap and GoDaddy.
There are a couple of points you need to consider when choosing a registrar:
Accreditation – Pick a registrar that is ICANN accredited. This will ensure that you’re with a registrar that complies with good business standards and policies.
Reputation – Needless to say, a good registrar has a good reputation online. Search for reviews or even complaints on a registrar you’re considering to find out its reputation.
Terms – You’d want to know if registrars have restrictive contracts or difficult policies for transfers should you decide to leave.
Fees – Aside from the cost of the domain, different registrars slap different fees for such extra services as privacy protection.
Dedicated Business – Some companies offer both hosting and registration services. There are those who advice however, that it is best to have separate companies handle your registration and hosting. This is simply to ensure that if something happens to your host’s company, your domain has the chance of remaining intact.
Domain Name Extensions
Which extension should you go for? A .com, .net, .info, .biz, .org, etc.? I would personally go for a .com because this is what most people commonly associate with website addresses. When people talk about websites and blogs, what is foremost in their minds is .com. It’s also cheaper than some of the other options.
Then again, there are instances when a geo targeted extension would make better sense. For example if you own a business in Australia, it would make sense to have a .com.au extension.
Ready to buy your blog domain? Start researching for options now.
Blogger.com is the blogging platform owned by Google and is one of the oldest blog services around. You can sign up and start blogging for free with Blogger. One catch to be able to use the service is that your domain name has to carry the service’s brand. Your URL will therefore appear as http://whateveryourblognameis.blogspot.com.
For beginners, Blogger is an excellent place to learn. This is mainly because there is no cost involved and you can take all the time you need to get comfortable blogging. Later on, when you’ve become more of an expert, you can buy your own domain name and link it to your Blogger blog so you can drop the .blogspot part. If you want to take an even more advanced step, you can migrate your Blogger blog to WordPress.
Many blog experts, when asked for advice immediately tell beginners to start with WordPress.org. Among the most common reasons for ditching Blogger for WordPress include:
You have greater control over features and customization with WordPress. You have hundreds of plugins and themes to choose from to create the exact look and functions you want. Moreover, you have the flexibility to create more than just a blog. You can have a static, membership or ecommerce website with a blog just being one part of it.
Because Google owns Blogger, it has terms and conditions which you have to follow. Otherwise, your blog could get deleted or terminated even if you just happen to misinterpret a rule. The problem with Blogger is that sometimes, they don’t inform users of terminations so you can wake up one day without a blog.
You can earn off Adsense and other advertising services with your Blogger blog but you could get canned if you aggressively promote affiliate products. Depending on the judgment of the robots and employees reviewing your work, your content could be marked as spam even if you feel you’re only a moderate promoter.
If asked to choose between the two, I would choose WordPress too but this doesn’t mean I would always recommend it for everyone and in every circumstance. Aside from the added cost of hosting for a WordPress blog, there is also a tremendous additional demand on your time, resources and skills. For each WordPress property you maintain, you need to look into the following considerations:
Regular file and database backups to safeguard against the permanent loss of data in case something happens to your host or its servers.
Taking security measures and making regular updates to secure your site against hackers. If you do end up getting hacked you may have to perform the repair work yourself depending on whether your host has the capacity to assist you and the hundreds of others whose accounts have been compromised.
Checking plugin and theme compatibility issues. Sometimes, themes and plugins become incompatible with new versions of WordPress. This can lead to loss of data or site features when you upgrade.
File storage and bandwidth limits. No host provides unlimited storage and bandwidth even though they advertise that. Once you start adding more blogs and these begin to draw more traffic, you could exceed what is allotted to you. You will have to pay extra to increase your limits.
I’m not saying there will never be any untoward incidents in Blogger, but the service is maintained by engineers in Google who take care of storage, bandwidth, security and compatibility issues. All you have to do is create content. In the five years I’ve been blogging, I’ve never lost a Blogger blog and there have only been a few service outages.
In short, I would recommend WordPress if:
You’re embarking on an online project where a professional image is important or where you intend to generate some income and
If you have the resources to hire maintenance help or the time to maintain it yourself.
If you’re not seriously considering starting an online business and you just want to blog for fun or as a hobby with no concern for monetization whatsoever, I would recommend you save your money, time and energy and just stick to Blogger.
If you’ve decided you want to try out Blogger, here’s an overview of what’s inside the 2012 dashboard.
Hyper Text Markup Language or HTML is the basic language used for building websites. Hence, an HTML document is also known as a web page and consists of tags which may or may not come in pairs.
It’s important to have a basic concept of what this is mainly because this can help you understand why things look the way they do on your website. With some basic HTML knowledge you can already create a basic web page. HTML can help you achieve a number of different formatting preferences and options such as:
Tables
Paragraphs
Text formatting
Links
Lists
These are just examples of what you can do with basic knowledge. You can do a lot more when you acquire advanced skills. For example, advanced HTML can let you specify your desired web page descriptions and information that you want major search engines to know.
It’s not an absolute requirement for you as a blogger to learn the language. Most blogging platforms have built in editors that let you format blog posts and elements. Knowing HTML however can be particularly helpful in cases where an editor is not functioning properly or when you want to manually format something on your sidebar. Also, once you become a blog expert, you may also want to manually control elements without relying on the potential limitations of formatting editors or tools.
Some of the most common examples of tags are:
<p></p> – for opening and ending a paragraph
<br> – text following this tag will start in a new line
<ul></ul> – for specifying unordered lists
<ol></ol> – for specifying ordered lists
<li></li> – for starting and ending each list item
<strong></strong> – for making text bold
<a></a> + the “href” attribute contained in the opening tag – for creating links
You can watch the video above for a demonstration of these sample tags. The best place to learn all you need to know about HTML is w3schools.com.
Before you setup a blog, you need to first think about blog ownership. If you’re a total newbie to blogging, you might not think this is sensible at all. Isn’t the blogger automatically the owner of his blog?
The answer isn’t as simple as you think. Online, it’s possible for you to own the text, images and thoughts in a blog, but someone else might be the owner of the platform you use for blogging and of the domain where your content is. Of course, it’s also possible to choose full ownership over both your content and your domain.
Free Blogs
When you don’t own your domain, you are most likely blogging using a free service or platform. Obviously, when you have a free blog, you don’t pay for anything. You just create and publish content.
You’d know if you’re viewing a free blog if the URL (domain name) that appears on the address box of your browser looks like this:
http://yourblogname.blogspot.com OR http://yourblogname.wordpress.com
Notice the portions blogspot.com (blogger.com) and wordpress.com? These are free blogging services that you can use without having to pay anything. The only catch is that the service’s name has to be retained in the domain name. It’s never going to be just http://www.yourblogname.com.
There are other free services you can use to start a blog but Blogger.com and WordPress.com are among the most popular.
Self-Hosted
When you’ve paid for a domain name and for space to store or host your content files, what you have is a self-hosted blog. You own both your blog’s domain name and the contents in it.
You’d recognize a self-hosted blog when you see one because the domain name that appears on the address box of your browser usually looks like this:
http://www.yourblogname.com
Most self-hosted blogs run on WordPress.org which you’ll have to download and install. We’ll tackle how to buy a domain, how to setup hosting and how to install WordPress in another section.
Free vs. Self-Hosted
So what’s the best option for you? Many web experts will tell you to go straight for the self-hosted option. This is because of several advantages to it:
You have full control and you can do almost whatever you want with and in your blog. I’d like to stress “almost” here because every service has terms and conditions, even paid ones. Self-hosting however simply gives you greater freedom than free options. Policies of free services can restrict many activities, such as monetization methods, among others. Free services can shut down a blog even without proper notice if you break their rules.
Self-hosted blogs have domain names that look more professional. This is important if you’re running a blog for your business or to showcase your services.
You’re given more means to customize. You can dramatically change your theme or add tons of different functions and features.
Despite these obvious advantages, I wouldn’t always recommend the self-hosted option especially for beginner bloggers because there are disadvantages to it too:
You’re in charge of regular maintenance which can be technically challenging and time-consuming.
You have to resolve issues on your own which will again be a problem if you’re not tech savvy. Some of the most difficult issues include hacker attacks and blogs that break after an update.
No host truly offers unlimited file storage and bandwidth. This is true even among hosts that say they do. You will have to eventually pay a lot once your files and number of visitors increase.
Crucial mistakes, which can have far reaching consequence, can happen when you immediately start a self-hosted blog with little knowledge about how things work. Not setting a preferred permalink structure and then setting it at a later point in time is an example of a critical beginner error.
For beginners, I would suggest starting a free blog first. This will help you both practice market research and get comfortable with some of the minor technical aspects of blogging. In the meantime, a good way to prepare for the self-hosted option is to start reading more about it.
Once you’ve become comfortable with publishing online and you’ve come to accept the possibilities of encountering challenges, then you can go for a self-hosted blog. If you’re bent on taking blogging seriously though, I recommend not taking too long to shift from a free to a self-hosted platform.
A personal email address is a luxury that allows users to communicate both professionally and personally on a daily basis. As with everything, however, it must be secured at all times to guard against malicious content. Spam is one of the top complaints that all users have when it comes to the functionality of their email accounts. These types of email can clog up your inbox and sometimes trick people which can lead to a virus attacking the contents of the computer. Below are some tips and tricks to assist you in securing your email from the constant attacks of unwanted emails and viruses.
