Installing Wordpress Part 3: Uploading Wordpress Files

Now that we know how to choose the right website host for our new Wordpress blog, upload files via File Transfer Protocol (FTP), and have a database ready to go, all we have left to do is install the Wordpress script and complete the set up process.

The Wordpress blogging script files should already be downloaded and unzipped to your computer. Now you just need to open your FTP client and browse to find the Wordpress files on your computer. In this tutorial we will be using FileZilla as our FTP client.

In FileZilla all computer files are viewed on the left hand side under “local site” – which also means “your computer.” In FileZilla browse your computer to find the Wordpress files downloaded from the Wordpress website. The left hand side of FileZilla under local site should look something like this:

Next you will want to connect to your website in FileZilla. The information needed to connect to a website via FTP is: website or FTP URL, username, password, and port # (default port number is 21.)

Once you are connected to your website you will notice in FileZilla that your website files are listed on the right hand side under “remote site” which also means “your website.” In the right hand section you will want to browse to the public_html folder or the root domain.

Note: The files located within the root domain is what website visitors first see when they arrive at your website. For example if you install Wordpress on your root domain the Wordpress blog will appear on the following URL: http://yourdomainname.com

However if you would like to install Wordpress in a sub folder of the domain you can do this as well. In order to install Wordpress in a sub folder you will want to create the folder within your root domain. Just create a new folder within the public_html folder. Name the folder whatever you would like, for example if you want your Wordpress blog to be located at http://yourdomainname.com/blog then name the folder “blog.” Then open that folder and upload the Wordpress files within that folder.

Next we are going to upload all Wordpress files to the public_html folder. You will want to be sure you have already configured the wp-config-sample.php file with the database information and save it as wp-config.php within the Wordpress files located on your computer.

Be sure to upload ALL files, including the new wp-config.php file you just created.

Once all the Wordpress files are uploaded you will then want to go to your website URL to run the install script. To run the install script go to the following URL: http://yourblog.com/wp-admin/install.php (replace “yourblog.com” with your actual URL.)

Note: If you installed the blog in a sub directory then you will need to add the folder name within the URL like this: http://yourblog.com/foldername/wp-admin/install.php

Next You will want to enter your blog information:

On the next page you will receive the log in information to your Wordpress dashboard. Be sure to write down your password and don’t lose it!

Congratulations you are now the proud owner of a self hosted Wordpress blog! Now find a fancy theme, some cool plugins, and start blogging!

P.S. At Girly Website Hosting we offer free Wordpress installation with ALL hosting packages!

Installing Wordpress Part 2: Setting Up a Database

When installing Wordpress you will need to have access to at least one database through your website host. The database holds the meat of the Wordpress blog. When doing research on a website host, be sure they provide at least one database so that you can install Wordpress on your website.

Setting Up a Database

When signing up with a website host they will provide you with information to log into your client control panel. Most website hosts use what is called Cpanel, and this is where most web masters manage their website files, databases, and email accounts.

We will be using the Cpanel interface as a base for this tutorial.

Step #1 Create a Database – After you log into your Cpanel, find the icon that says “MySQL Databases” and click on it.

On the next page you will see a box that says “Create New Database.” There you will enter the name of the database that will be used for your new Wordpress blog. After you enter the name click create database.

Step #2 Create a User – In order for the database to work you will need to assign a user and user privileges. On the page you created the database you will find a section that says “Add New User.” Here you will pick out a username, and a password for the new database user.

Please write down the password assigned to the user as you will need this information later on when configuring Wordpress for installation. It is a good idea to create a strong database password to avoid being hacked.

Next you will want to add the new user you created to the database you created. This can be done on the same page in the section titled “Add User to Database”:

On the next page you will need to assign user privileges. Just click “All Privileges” and then click make changes.

On the page where you created the database you will now see your database, and the user name. Write down the database name, and database user name. Keep this information together with the password you wrote down in a previous step.

Step #3 Editing Your Wp-Config.php File – The wp-config.php is how you will connect your Wordpress blogging script to the database you just created. If you haven’t already downloaded the Wordpress script to your computer then now is the time to do so. The latest version of Wordpress can be downloaded here: http://wordpress.org/download/

Once you have downloaded the files to your computer you will want to unzip the files. Next open up the wp-config-sample.php file in your text editor. Edit the following fields with the database information you wrote down in the previous step:

Save this file as wp-config.php within your Wordpress folder that holds all the other Wordpress script files. In the next tutorial we will work on uploading the Wordpress files to the website and finish the process of installing a self hosted Wordpress blog on your domain name.

In the next post we will complete the process of installing a self hosted Wordpress blog!

P.S. At Girly Website Hosting we offer free Wordpress installation with ALL hosting packages!

Installing Wordpress Part 1: File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

Once you have found a Wordpress Friendly website Host you will need to know a little bit about using FTP in installing your Wordpress files.

FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is the fastest way to transfer files from a computer to a website. Knowing how to FTP is essential to installing Wordpress and will be used to move the Wordpress script files to your website host server. The website server is where all website files are stored.

Most FTP software is provided free through the Internet. FileZilla is one of the well known free FTP clients available and can be downloaded here.

Connecting To the Website Server

Before connecting to your website through an FTP client, you will want to make sure your domain name is set up with a hosting account and all name servers have had time to propagate. In order to connect to your web hosting server through FileZilla you will need the following information:

URL – An URL is needed when connecting to your server via FTP. In most FTP clients the website URL should be sufficient. However some website hosts also provide you with an FTP URL, or you can set one up yourself. The FTP URL can also be used to connect to your server via FTP. The URL will need to go into the “address” field when connecting to the website server via an FTP client.

Username – Most website hosts will give you an FTP or Cpanel username when setting up a new hosting account. In your FTP client you will want to enter this username provided in order to connect to the server.

Password – Again when setting up a hosting account your web host will provide an FTP or Cpanel password which will also be needed in order to connect to the server via FTP.

Port – A port number is how a server identifies the message that has arrived via FTP. For most servers the default port number for transferring files is 21.

Now that we know what information is needed to connect to our server via FTP. We will now look at some other definitions that are good to know when using an FTP client to transfer files to your website.

Local Site – Most FTP clients have a side where the “local site” files are listed. The local site is also known as your computer, and the files listed are the files stored on your computer. All the files being uploaded to your web hosts server will be found under “local site.”

Remote Site – The remote site is where all the files hosted on the website host server are listed. When installing Wordpress all of the script files will be transferred from the local site (your computer) to the remote site (your website.)

Learning how to transfer files to your website via FTP can be a bit overwhelming at first. However practice makes perfect, and you will soon get the hang of using an FTP client to transfer files from your computer to your website. FTP is definitely a skill that opens many doors to help grow any online website.

P.S. At Girly Website Hosting we offer free Wordpress installation with ALL hosting packages!

January Special!

This month we are having a special where you purchase a quarterly hosting package and receive a 1 year domain name purchase for free!

To claim this special offer just do the following:

1. Go to Girly Website Hosting and pick which hosting package best suites your needs. We currently have the Starter, Room to Grow, and Super Mega Hosting Packages.

2. Then place your order here – just pick your package.

3. Click that you would like to register a domain name with Girly Website Hosting and fill out your domain name.

4. Next pick the QUARTERLY billing cycle – this is important because the discount code I am going to give you is only good if you choose the quarterly payment option for your particular hosting package.

5. Next preview your order then enter the promotion code: FREE01 – and be sure to “validate” the code.

6. Finally click check out – once your payment is made your account should be set up within 24 hours! It’s that easy!

If you have any questions please feel free to submit a support ticket here!

Conserving Bandwidth

Bandwidth is used up every time someone visits your website. Unlike disk space, bandwidth is often renewed every month. A lot of times bandwidth can get used up pretty quickly. In this post we will talk a little bit about how to conserve your monthly bandwidth allotment.

Every time someone visits your website certain elements they view will take away a certain amount of bandwidth. Images and audio files typically take up the most bandwidth. The more images and audio files on your website, and the more traffic you receive to your website, will determine how much bandwidth is used up on a monthly basis. Different image file types take up more or less bandwidth also.

Tips to conserving bandwidth:

• Only use .gif and .jpg images on your website.

• If you host a Wordpress blog, limit the number of posts on your home page, especially if your posts contain an image.

• Hot linking is another problem that causes bandwidth to run out. This is when someone links directly to an image on your website. A good way to prevent hot linking it to disable right click on your website. {link to script}

• If you host an html code for people to copy and paste on their website in order to link to your website, host the button at photobucket and make sure the link to the image is the link to the image hosted at photobucket.

If you have any questions about bandwidth or our hosting packages then please feel free to submit a support ticket.

Click here to view our affordable Wordpress friendly hosting packages!

What is Disk Space?

A lot of clients often wonder what is the disk space? Well disk space is the what’s set aside on the server to host your website. A website is made up of files and folders. Each file and folder takes up space, and the space it takes up is basically determined by the words, images, and code that is put together to make up your website.

So for example if your web page is an html web page, every line of code will take up “space” and count towards your disk space. So depending on how many web pages your website has will determine how much disk space you should purchase.

One thing to remember with disk space is that it is fixed and does not renew every month. So if you need more space you will typically need to purchase more space. Also adding a blog or forums to your website will also take up disk space.

Another thing to keep in mind, database driven websites like Wordpress blogs takes up less disk space than a typical html website.

If you have any questions about website hosting or our hosting packages then please feel free to submit a support ticket here.

All of our packages are generous in the disk space and you can easily host multiple websites even with our starter hosting pacakge. Click here to view more about our affordable Wordpress friendly hosting packages.

Where should I host my blog?

Optimally, you would have a business blog on its own domain on a separate server so that when you blog and link to your business projects they would count for maximum search engine optimization value. (There is evidence that Google gives higher value to a link from a website on a different server than a link from another site on the same server.)

If incoming links aren’t of great importance to you, you could still grab a domain name and host the blog on your main hosting site. If you have an existing website, it is also totally appropriate to install the blog script into a sub-directory on that site.

Don’t use Blogspot.com or Wordpress.com for a business blog. Your customization options are very limited and you won’t get decent statistics on your blog activities. You can install secondary stat tools but why go to that extra effort?

There are some hosting sites that don’t work with Wordpress. Before you sign up for hosting, ask customer support if they are Wordpress friendly.

At Girly Website Hosting we do offer FREE Wordpress installation with your website hosting package purchase. Affordably priced, our hosting packages start at just $3.95 per month and are designed to help you get a professional self hosted Wordpress website/blog.

Click here to view our package pricing, and if you have any questions then please feel free to submit a support ticket.

What Blogging Platform Should I Use?

There are several blog scripts available for use, including:

• Blogger – Free to use, can have a blog on their site (blogspot.com) or publish the content to your own hosting account.
• Wordpress – Free to use, can have a blog on their site (wordpress.com) or grab the open source script (wordpress.org.) for use on your own hosting account.
• Typepad – Paid service (typepad.com)

There are bloggers using every type of blog script who swear by their tool of choice and list off great features that keep them loyal. So your own choice will be a personal one.

For a business blog, a common choice is a self hosted Wordpress blog only because of it’s option to have static pages, and with a self hosted Wordpress blog you are allowed to have an ad supported website.

Wordpress is feature rich. It is an Open Source script. This means that anyone can take the source code and edit it. A community of creative and talented people are constantly improving the code and releasing updates for free use.

Wordpress is flexible. It works with a variety of ‘plug ins’ which are like hacks for the base code of the scrip. When uploaded and activated, they make the blog script work differently.

At Girly Website Hosting we definitely recommend using a self hosted Wordpress blog, and with your hosting package purchase you can actually put in a free request for us to install Wordpress for you! Also as a hosting install and customize our free themes at no charge!

What Makes a Blog Different From a Regular Website?

Assuming that a ‘regular website’ is referring to a static HTML site, it is the database driven content that really sets it apart.

There are many websites that have been built using a similar script/database (known as a Content Management System or CMS) and these sites have a lot in common with the blog since a blog script is essentially a CMS.

The lines between blogs and other types of websites are blurring as more business owners choose to build their site with a CMS. While many blogs are designed to look like a web journal, more and more are being designed to look like a regular website.

Because the content you enter into the blog is stored in a database, it can be distributed as a data feed. RSS is the feed that most blogs employ. (RSS stands for Really Simple Syndication.) With RSS, your content can be viewed through any RSS reader or aggregator on another website or on a computer or portable device.

Another benefit to being database driven is that the script can accept and display comments on specific posts and can detect when other sites link to one of your blog posts.

Wordpress blogs are, in my opinion, the most versatile where you can either use the blog as a regular blog, or as a static website with a static home page. You can use a blog pretty much however you would like, and it is a lot easier to add, and organize content to a blogging platform unlike a regular html website.

Another benefit of using a blog – Wordpress – as your content manager, no exspensive software to buy! Unlike a regular website, with a blog you can easily install a Wordpress blog on your domain and you can do this for free!

If you have any questions about blogging or starting your self hosted Wordpress blog then please feel free to contact me here.

Are you blogging yet?

Some script savvy people were blogging before blogging became a ‘cool’ activity. Some of us have been blogging steadily since mid 2004. Some picked up the habit in 2005 and more joined up in 2006. Now, in 2008 about half of the on line business owners you run into are blogging to some extent.

That means that the other half are not blogging yet!

Over the next couple of weeks we’re going to answer ten common questions that people still ask about blogging everyday. Hopefully by doing so we’ll overcome any reticence you may have about becoming a business blogger.

I know when I first decided to start my very first website back in 2004, it was a big dream and I had NO idea where to even start! So I hit the web and did searches on “how to start a website” and my search brought me to the idea that I would either have to learn how to hand code an html website or buy an expensive piece of software to help me build the website of my dreams. Well needless to say, being a busy mom of two with one on the way, I opted to buy the expensive piece of software!

I was really surprised to find out that designing a website was a lot harder than I thought, and it ended up NOT looking like the website of my dreams.

Once I got my first website up and running I came across a platform called Wordpress, and I was little confused at first, but once I started using the software I quickly began to realize I wasted all that money on the expensive software because Wordpress was what I was actually looking for!

So now I have more than one website…yay, and they are ALL ran on the Wordpress blogging platform. I like to think of myself as a Wordpress snob! I recommend Wordpress to everyone one of my design clients because it is made for not only hosting blogs, but you can use it as a static website too, and best of all the script is free – no expensive software needed!

I really wish someone would have explained to me more about blogs and Wordpress when I first started venturing into the on line world, so that’s why for the next few weeks we are going to talk more about what a blog is and why you should consider a blog for ALL your on line website needs, which includes managing your website all the way to gaining more traffic and more clients.

If you would like to stay up to date as to when a new post is made in the series then please feel free to subscribe to our blog using the options below!

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