InteractiveWoo

Every website on the internet is hosted on a server - which means that there are hundreds of thousands of web hosting companies to choose from to host your blog (why host?). As someone new to blogging, you don’t want to research and compare them all. You just want yours to work and be easy to work with. Fortunately, my colleagues and I have hosted our websites and blogs on numerous web hosting companies and came up with these top 3 easy-to-use, dependable hosting companies that also happen to offer the best value.

Blue Host - $6.95 per month
WordPress Auto-Install, UNLIMITED disk storage, UNLIMITED data transfer/bandwidth, free domain name, 2500 POP/WebMail addresses, 100 MySQL databases, voted best support from 2004-2008, free control panel, 24/7 network monitoring, 99% up-time guarantee, mirrored storage backups, no hidden fees.

Powweb - $3.88 per month (1st year) then $5.77 for 2 yr plans
Wordpress Install, UNLIMITED Disk Space (Raid Storage), UNLIMITED data transfer/bandwidth, UNLIMITED POP/WebMail addresses, free domain name, Load Balanced Technology, 75 MySQL databases, daily database backup, e-Commerce ready, 24/7 email and chat support, Toll-free phone support, free control panel.

DreamHost - $5.95 per month for 10 yr plans (increase in price with decrease in yrs)
Wordpress Install, 500GB Disk Space, 5TB data transfer/bandwidth, UNLIMITED POP/WebMail addresses, free domain name, UNLIMITED MySQL databases, etc. The difference between DreamHost and all other webhosts is the community feel of their web panel. Besides the standard links for things like email and domain management, there are areas for customer suggestions, DreamHost newsletters, the DreamHost Site of the Month, DreamHost donations, the unofficial DreamHost directory, the DreamHost Rewards program, as well as a customer discussion area.

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Watch this video first: “Blogs in Plain English”

Defining a Blog

A blog is a type of website where content is organized in the form of posts. As described in the video above, posts are usually arranged in chronological order with the most recent at the top of the main page, keeping the content of the blog “fresh” all the time. Blog posts are usually organized in categories and tags so they are accessible from the main page. Blogs also have traditional web pages and archives of older posts. Most blogs have the common characteristics of having a RSS (Really Simple Syndication) “subscribe” button where content can be delivered to the reader as it becomes available. Most blogs also have the ability to for readers to leave comments on the posts, hence creating a discussion over the posted topic. There are blogs on virtually any topic you can think of and bloggers with similar interests or topics are building relationships and building communities like never before.

Main Components of a Blog

• Post - A post is where you write the main content of your blog. Each post has a headline describing the content, the date the post was created, tags associated with the post, and one or multiple categories
• Page - A page is a traditional web page where you want content to remain static. An “about us” or “contact” page are examples of pages
• Comments - Each post can be a topic for discussion using comments. You can set comments to appear automatically or after a review. Comments encourage discussion and increase engagement for future readers.
• Categories and Tags - Posts can be organized through categories or tags. Depending on the breadth of a blog, categories are used for a high level organization of your posts and tags are used for more details. For example, a tennis blog with a post about Roger Federer defeating Andy Murray in the US OPEN Tennis Finals can be categorized as US OPEN and tagged as Roger Federer and Andy Murray.

A great way to learn about blogs is to read a few, bookmark your favorites, and become engaged by leaving comments. The BEST way to learn about blogs is to start blogging yourself. Continue to “How to Make Blog”

In the previous post “What is a Blog” I mentioned that the best way to learn about blogs is to start blogging yourself. So how can you get started today? You have two very good options:

Start with Wordpress.com

Blogging is no longer only for the tech savvy. Anyone can start a blog very easily and quickly on one of the free hosted Blog Platforms (Wordpress.com, Blogger.com, Typepad.com). I started blogging on Wordpress.com because of the platform’s ease of use and flexibility over Blogger.com. I quickly learned the basics of blogging and I encourage you to do the same.

Start Blogging in 24 hours the right way
Although starting a blog on Wordpress.com is free and easy, there are many limitations for a blogger serious about blogging. I’m talking about being limited to having a standard look, generic domain names, no design customization, and less control. This is because Wordpress.com blogs are hosted by Wordpress and they set the rules. Read this important post about why host your blog on your own server.
Most serious and successful bloggers host their blog on their own server. I made the switch to my own server very soon after I started blogging. You may be thinking right now that you’re not web savy enough to get your own server, install the databases let alone do any customization - and that’s okay. You can either spend the time and learn it on your own (which I absolutely encourage you do over time - just don’t spend weeks reading and not doing) or let a design professional set up your blog in 24 hours the right way; with all the right tools; and answer all your questions over the phone. Read about our services.

3 More Excellent Resources on Blogging for Beginners

If you’re interested in learning everything from setting up a blog to building your readership to making money from blogging, but you don’t know where to start or who the experts are; I (as well as Darren Rowse and Brian Clark) highly recommend Yaro Starak’s Blog Mastermind as your step-by-step coaching program. Yaro’s program is satisfaction guaranteed and already has more than 500 students. I highly recommend that you check out these resources by Yaro Starak:

• Blog Mastermind Blog Mentoring Program - one of the best coaching and training course going around on blogging.
• Become a Blogger Videos - a free series of videos that talks new bloggers through how to set up a blog. Easy to understand and best of all, free.
• Blog Profits Blueprint - a free report on how to build profitable blogs.

There are usually two options when it comes to deciding where to host your blog (where to store your blog on the internet): hosted on your Blog platform’s server or hosted on your own server.

Hosted on the Blog Platform’s Servers

Many people interested in blogging start with this type of blog because it is free (wordpress.com or blogger.com), cheap (typepad.com) and relatively simple to use. The blog platforms also makes software upgrades automatically. However there are many more limitations that comes with this type of blog hosting:

• Less Control - Blogger.com does not allow you to create any categories while Wordpress.com does not allow for advertising. This is the main reason why people host on their own servers.
• Standard Look - limited selection of themes (look and feel) that makes your blog look like every other free hosted blog.
• No Design Customization - without knowing CSS, you cannot make changes to your design colors or structure.
• Generic Domain Names - your domain name will be “yourname.wordpress.com” or “yourname.blogspot.com.”
• At Mercy of Blog Server - although you own the content, you’re at the mercy of server down time.
• Hard to Change Your Mind Later - if your blog gets bigger and you want to start hosting on your own server, you may lose traffic, readers and search engine rankings.
• Inability to Install Plugins - plugins are tools that make blogs better.
• Inability to Install Other Tools - Google Analytics, etc.

Hosted on your Own Server (or Stand Alone Blogs)

Hosting on your own server does require a little more technical knowledge as you will have to set up a hosting plan with your host server, set up the databases, install wordpress and establish ftp to your server for the transfer of files and for software upgrades. Luckily, this is something that can be down for you (or taught to you) by a design professional. There is a cost for hosting on your own server as well but these days, you can buy a robust shared server for as little as $5 per month. Like the top bloggers in the blogosphere, I host all of my blogs on my own server and here’s why:

• Full Customization and Control - If you’re CSS savy, you can tweak any template to make it look your own. If you’re like most people and don’t know much about web design, there are many premium themes (design templates) that offer “dropdown” design customization that is easy and intuitive to use. There’s nothing that screams your own than a blog design that is customized to your liking.
• Premium Themes - you can use any theme available on the internet including premium themes which have a more professional look and are customizable without coding.
• Free Tools for your Blog - One of the reasons why I recommend Wordpress as the choice blogging platform is the availability of the best plugins (Read about the Top 10 Best Wordpress Plugins). Plugins can add functions to your blog beyond the basic install of wordpress.
• Add Google to your Blog -  you can easily add Google Analytics to track your blog stats and add Google Adsense to start making money of your content.
• Your Own Domain Name - Imagine interactivewoo.com as interactivewoo.wordpress.com. Having your own domain name is having your own brand - professional and easy to remember.

To Summarize

In the words of Darren Rowse (top blogger about blogging): “If you’re wanting to develop a serious blog and have aspirations for it to be used on a professional sort of level (whether as a business or corporate blog, as a blog to build your own profile or a blog to earn income from advertising) I’d recommend you go in the direction of a stand alone blog. Even if you are not highly skilled in this area it’s worth spending a little money to get it set up with a designer…”