Let us now consider the option for hosting your blog on an externally provided host of your own choosing.

In the previous tutorial, we went step by step through the process of setting up a blog on a service such as Blogger.com for doing this.  Now, as discussed in the introduction, this will suffice for most people, but for those who want the flexibility and are brave enough to attempt some coding or at least fix the problems they may encounter, then the only option is your own website on a host of your choosing.  Join me as we review the steps you will need to go through.

So now you have decided to go down this route, what are the things you will need to consider.  There are three things you will need to do:

1. Domain Name Setup

This is one of the foremost reasons for going down this route of DIY blogging.  A unique presence on the internet, with your own domain name, a URL that identifies you on the internet.  The choice of names is up to you, but it will not always necessarily be available for purchase.  You have to select a name, then use a service called Domain Name Registration Service to register it with the central inter-NIC public register of Domain Names.  The range of names available to users has grown dramatically, because you no longer have the restrictions of a .COM or .UK or similar country designations.  A whole new range of domain names have become available, for example:

technicalarticles.me.uk
technicalarticles.uk.com
technicalarticles.eu
technicalarticles.tv

And to find out what is available, the easiest thing to do is go to Google and search for a Domain Name Registration service, and pick one that you find easiest to use.  Being in the UK, I have found the following provider useful:

http://www.123-reg.co.uk/

I have found it a very easy site to use, as you can enter the domain name you’d like to use straight on their home page, and you get an instant quote on what is available and what is n’t, together with some suggestions.  This is the company I have used, and I will cover in another article in more detail, how to set up your Domain Name and link it to your web hosting provider. Once, you’ve decided on a name, shop around at other sites and find a provider that is the best value and ease of use and convenience for yourself.

So spend some time, researching the name you’d like to use, because once you’ve decided you will be using it for a long time to come… true you can always go and get a new name, but if you start of with something catchy and memorable, this will stand you in good stead.  Also, there are various arguments as to whether you should use your keywords in your domain names as Search Engines often use this as a criteria for searching the relevance of a particular site, but again we will discuss this later.

2. Web Host Selection

Next, you will need to find a web hosting solution provider to put your blog on.  Again there are a whole range of companies out there.  Well, in my case I had come across Wordpress as a blog development platform, and I liked the extensive support forums and exciting themes that were available for this, so my hosting choice was governed by a provider that was able to support this platform.  Wordpress is a Linux/Unix Development environment as opposed to a Microsoft Windows environment.  So the hosting solution we need is a company that provides a shared Linux hosting package, which is essentially a server where you have access to your own area, but other users also have their own areas separate from yours, but on the same server.  The web interface you use on these Linux servers is called cPanel and you will often see this referred to as cPanel Hosting. You want to make sure that your Cpanel Hosting provider offers you at least these facilities:

• cPanel hosting plans to host your websites.
• Ability to host unlimited domains and create unlimited email accounts.  This will allow you to have several websites up and running from a single hosting platform, and you can upgrade your packages as your needs grow.
• Support for server side scripts - PHP, Perl, Ruby on Rails.  The important thing here is to look for support of the latest scripts in my case, I wanted PHP version 5 support on the server to support some of the Wordpress plug-in features.
• Look for FREE blogs, forums, galleries FREE ecommerce tools, these tools will allow you to add features onto your website as your needs grow.
• Database support - MySQL and PhpMyAdmin. You will need these for your Wordpress Database files, so make sure this is supported.
• Fantastico is a cPanel add-on that integrates with cPanel and gives you the ability to automatically install various open source scripts.  Please make sure this is there, because it will make your life so much easier at the beginning as you can use this to install Wordpress on to the space provided by your hosting solution.

In my case, the company I chose was:

http://www.WEBHOSTING.UK.COM/

My choice was based not only on the features above, but the fact that I had the flexibility to upgrade at a later date as my needs grew, plus, and this for me was the deciding factor, the company provided a 24/7 FREEPHONE toll-free number you could call them on for support, together with an internet chat option, which I found to be extremely useful in setting up the site you are using right now!!!  For example, I remember chatting to someone around midnight one day, just to arrange for my account to be moved to a server that supported PHP version 5, and by the time I woke up next morning, the work had already been done, and I could continue with where I had left off.  Now, that’s excellent service.  So, from my own personal experience, I have no hesitation in recommending WEBHOSTING.UK.COM, and if you have n’t selected a provider just go and have a look at what they offer.  Again, consider what’s important for you, shop around and find whats best value and right for your needs.

3. Wordpress Publishing Platform

WordPress started in 2003 with a single bit of code to enhance the typography of everyday writing and with fewer users than you can count on your fingers and toes. Since then it has grown to be the largest self-hosted blogging tool in the world, used on hundreds of thousands of sites and seen by tens of millions of people every day.

You should go and see the Wordpress website for yourself here:

http://wordpress.org/

Go and read about it, do your own investigation… when you’ve read about it, CLICK on EXTEND and then THEMES, and go and look at all the different options you have for giving your blog a look and feel that helps define it as uniquely yours.  These are all customisable templates, where you will be able to change the images and titles to reflect your own unique blog.  To look for more templates, simply go into Google and search for ‘free wordpress themes’, and that’s how I found the theme I eventually settled for for this website that you are currently using.

Now Wordpress is n’t the only show in town, and you might like to consider other options, such as

b2evolution
nucleus

Go and look at these too, do your own investigation, and I’d be interested in any comments you have on these other platforms.  I did my research, and chose Wordpress and have been very impressed with it indeed.

The beauty of these Blog Development Platforms are that they provide you with all the necessary hooks to set up your blog, without having to do intricate html/xhtml coding, and retain enough customisation and flexibility to give your blog your own personal look and feel.  Add to this the fact that there are literally hundreds of different themes templates you can choose from, together with a host of plug-in modules that allow you to extend the capability of your blog to do almost anything, you have a very flexible development environment indeed.  And, to make it even sweeter, most of what you will need to use is all FREE!!!

That’s it, there’s enough details here to get you started looking at this option and investigating all the choices you have for hosting you own blog on a web host of your choice.  In the next article will take a closer look at actually registering our Domain Name, before going through the steps of setting up your web host.  I’d be interested in readers comments on how they made their selections, and see what what was important to them in their choice.

Daniel Hunt

PS. I have really admired the support and help provided by my external hosting solution provider, so I have signed up to their affiliate programme as a means to monetise my website.  Again, all this is very experimental, and I will keep you posted on what works and what does n’t.  The links to their site on this page are my affiliate links.

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