Create and maintain a basic weblog/Host your own blog/Hosting a domain

Objective
The objectives or this activity are to;


 * 1) Acquire a world wide web domain
 * 2) Acquire and activate web hosting to setup a Wordpress weblog
 * 3) Activate & implement the use of a Wordpress weblog

Activity
There are many ways in which you can acquire a web domain and also acquire and use web hosting ( online repository ) to use the domain with.Inversely, there are also many hosting companies which you could use to host your blog with that require no charges however there is a distinct difference between one and the other.

For the purposes of this activity we will be exploring a cheap and easy to install & use web hosting solution which includes access to a Cpanel ( control panel) to setup a Wordpress weblog. the webhost we will be using are known as Bluehost - servers located in America with large web space and plenty of bandwidth.

Preparing Your Domain
Firstly, have you considered what your domain name will be ? ie. http://www.mydomainname.com

In some countries you are required to register your business details to acquire a domain - in this instance we will assume you have discussed and decided on your domain name and that you will have a primary domain at a '.com' location which does not require local registration.

You will need to have your credit card or some other form of payment schedule ready for the next steps.

Acquiring Your Domain & Webhosting Together

 * 1) Go to http://www.bluehost.com
 * 2) Read through the terms and conditions and hosting features carefully
 * 3) When you are ready proceed to the Sign Up area - http://bluehost.com/sign_up_now.html
 * 4) Ensure you enter your desired domain name carefully. Complete the web forms.
 * 5) Check you email shortly after. You will have been sent details to ensure you can log into your control panel area where you can setup your Wordpress weblog.

Logging Into Your Control Panel

 * 1) Your control panel is located at http://login.bluehost.com
 * 2) When you have logged into Bluehost select the icon ' Fantastico De Luxe ' in the software / services area.
 * 3) You will notice the term ' Wordpress' in the sidebar of the Fantastico panel. Select and follow the steps to setting up your blog.
 * 4) You can find your blog installed in the ' Files > File Manager' area of your Bluehost Control panel located in the directory that you selected to install it in.
 * 5) You can find and download many free themes and plugins for Wordpress from Wordpress.org which are then upload in zip format ( and then extract ) to your respective ' 'themes' or 'plugins' folders inside the File Manager area in your control panel. Each theme and plugin you download to use should contain installation instructions.

Help!

My recommendation is to save lots of time by either frequenting the Wordpress forums and asking questions or buy Lisa Sabin-Wilson's book and read it cover to cover. Failing that, setup your own individual blog at Wordpress.com and practice the use of the platform to build interactive content before heading off to install, build and hack your own.

Support Resources

 * http://wordpress.org/ - Wordpress Support & Documentation - everything about Wordpress
 * http://www.bluehost.com/ - Bluehost - a cheap and easy to use webhost.
 * http://wordpress.org/hosting/- Wordpress Web Hosting - alternative weblog hosts
 * http://del.icio.us/alexanderhayes/wordpress- Wordpress Related Sites - sites tagged 'wordpress' - alexanderhayes
 * http://del.icio.us/search/?fr=del_icio_us&p=wordpress&type=all- Many Wordpress Resources - everything tagged 'Wordpress' in del.icio.us'

Attribution
This activity was originally developed by Alex Hayes