Day One: Beginning blogging

I’m starting a mini-series on what to do to blog, from day one. I got this idea from Donovan over at BlogThatOutside. Feel free to chip in, in the comments, if I’m forgetting something.

So, it’s go-time, you’ve made the decision that you have something to say….You want your voice to be heard.

But, now what? Where do we go from here?

First off, if you’ve decided to go the free route, then haul butt over to Blogger and sign up for an account. You’ll be published an online in a matter of minutes. That is, if you don’t care too much about personalization or blog themes. It’s great if you don’t know too much about installing WordPress or doing any of that domain name stuff.

However, if you’re like most of us and have decided to purchase your own domain name and host your own blog, read on.

You should head on over to GoDaddy, which is a reputable domain name registration service and check if your website name is taken. If not, congrats, register that puppy and you’ll be on your way. If not, you may want to use a service such as NameBoy to help in your domain name decision.

Next, you’re going to need hosting. GoDaddy also offers that as a service, but I’m sure you can find something that may be a little cheaper. I’d suggest doing a Google search for “cheap website hosting” or something of that nature. When you’re hosting is all setup, you can now setup WordPress or you can opt to do the TypePad thing. Most of us newbies like WordPress because it’s just so darned easy to use.

Using the Fantastico thing that comes with your domain is the easiest way to setup WordPress. When this is all done, you can login to your Admin page by going to www.yourdomainname.com/wp-admin.

You may want to search for a nice theme before you start posting like crazy, though.

Join me for day two, where we search out themes and make our space online, our own.