NewByDesign » Blogs

Installing WordPress In 5 Minutes Or Less

Tim Hicks — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 22:36:42 +0000

As astonishing as it may seem, you can actually go from having an empty web hosting account to having a site that is ready to accept content in under ten minutes. Actually, come to think of it, it’s closer to five. In this video, I’ll walk you through setting up WordPress (my favorite blog platform) and updating it to the latest version in just a few minutes.

Now, before we start, I want you to keep in mind that I’m not a professional video producer and this video was produced quickly so don’t expect Hollywood-style production values. With that said, enjoy the video.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=R7fsMQx4xAA

Don’t Reinvent The Wheel

Tim Hicks — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 16:51:04 +0000

One of the biggest problems I see with new webmasters is that they think they must “reinvent the wheel.” They want to build a website from scratch and make life so much tougher on themselves.

Building a site from scratch is fine, if you’re in business as a web designer. Web designers and webmasters are two different groups of people. Sure, some folks belong in both groups, but they really have two different sets of goals and responsibilities. A web designer creates a “look” for a website. A webmaster keeps the site running and updated. This site is about empowering new webmasters.

Don’t misunderstand me, you do want your website to be unique. That’s for sure. That doesn’t, however, mean that you have to start from a blank screen and do every little thing yourself.

Most web designers frown on using templates for sites. Me? I love them. After all, my business is to design functional and informative websites. That’s what I do. That’s what all good webmasters do.

The trap that a lot of new webmasters fall into is that they spend so much time designing and coding their new site, that they never have time to update it or promote it. Soon, when they haven’t seen any increase in traffic or any signs of “life” from their site, they start to lose interest in the project. Once this happens, another potentially interesting website goes by the wayside. Don’t let this happen to your site.

It is for this reason that I build almost all of my sites using WordPress or another CMS application. Furthermore, I do tend to use templates for my sites. Sure, I customize them a bit, but I don’t start from a blank screen. It would be very easy for me to build my own WP themes, but it would also be very time consuming and, friends, time is the most precious thing we have in this life. After all, once gone, you cannot recover one single second.

Now, if you’re going to use templates, you can find a bunch of great templates for free at the WordPress website. Of course, you’ll also find some really bad ones there as well. That’s the chance you take when you go the free route. As for me, I like to purchase professionally-made templates. Of course, they cost more (anything costs more than “free”), but, in the long run, they’re worth it. I have found that paid templates usually tend to work more reliably than their free counterparts. In short, they do what they’re supposed to do. If you’re building a personal site with few “bells and whistles,” a free theme will probably work just fine. On the other hand, if you’re building a commercial site , and you want smooth functionality and the look of professionalism, you can’t beat a well-made professional theme.

The two theme producers that I use most are Woo Themes (who created the theme for this site – which, by they way, they have now made available for free!) and StudioPress. I really love the work Brian Gardner (Studio Press) has been doing on some of his newest themes. They look great. He offers a package containing all of the themes on the site for $199.95 and I just purchased it for some new sites I’m working on. If you are planning to create a lot of sites, you might want to consider that option as well as it would be more economical than purchasing individual themes separately.

It doesn’t matter whether you choose to use free themes or premium ones, the point is to give your site the unique and professional look you desire while preserving your most precious resource – your time.

Using A Free Blogging Web Site

Tim Hicks — Sat, 14 Mar 2009 07:45:01 +0000

For first time bloggers, a free blogging web site is a great way to get started in the blogosphere. Popular blogging web sites like blogger and eponym allow users to set up and host a blog without paying any fees at all. This encourages People to start blogging, because the fact that one of these sites can provide you with all of the tools that you need to get your blog up and runningwithout spending any money means that you have nothing to lose by starting a blog. The fact that it is so easy to find a way to blog for free is one of the reasons why so many people who have never had any other kind of web presence before find themselves drawn to blogging.

By signing up with a free blogging web site, you may find it easier to get listed in search engines that you would if you were starting your own blog from scratch. For example, google runs the free blog hosting site blogspot and crawls its pages very often looking for updates, so if you have your site hosted by blogspot you are almost guaranteed to be listed on google’s blog search engine. This easy access to search engines can take some of the work out of promoting your blog, and can help you gain a following with a minimum of marketing effort.

If your blog attracts a large readership, you may want to consider moving your site. Many people feel that being hosted by a free blogging web site gives a blog a kind of amateur flavor that is fine for a new member of the blogosphere, but is not appropriate for a high-profile blog. Having your own domain can help you make your blog feel professional, and finding a company that will host your domain is not difficult or expensive. Once your blog takes off, you will probably be able to sell enough advertising space to be able to afford to buy a domain and pay for a hosting package, and still have money left over. However, it does not make sense in most cases to invest in these glossy luxuries before you have a sizable readership.

Starting your blog on a free blogging web site is a great way to build a following before you spend any money on your blog. If and when your blog becomes popular and you are ready to take the next step and purchase your own domain, your readers will follow you to your new home. The fact that it is possible to use a free blog host like blogspost, blogger, or eponym as a kind of incubator for your blog is great news for bloggers everywhere.

Static HTML Versus Blog Versus CMS.