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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The ability to install plugins is one of the major benefits of having a wordpress blog hosted on your own server

Wordpress plugins are free and download-able and can extend your Wordpress blog to do almost anything you can imagine - from useful plugins that back up your database to “cool” plugins that customizing your message to new vs. returning visitors. To be faced with the thousands of plugins available to you and choose the right ones that work with your blog can be a daunting task. There are many plugins that do the same thing but with very different results.

Here is my list of Top 10 Best Wordpress Plugins that I have come across and also use on my blogs (in no particular order).

• FireStats (includes Most Popular Posts) - one of the best statistics plugin for Wordpress. Also includes a “Most Popular Posts” widget for your sidebar.
• AddThis - help your visitor promote your website or blog. Put the AddThis Social Bookmarking Widget on your site or blog, so any visitor can easily bookmark it. The widget works with all popular bookmarking services. You may also consider ShareThis as an alternative look.
• WP Post Ratings - adds an AJAX rating system for your WordPress blog’s post/page.
• Simple Tags (includes Related Posts) - Tagging made easy. This plugin has flexible configuration and suggests tags from the net and Yahoo which is great for SEO. This plugin also allows you to include “Related Posts” to your content based on your tags.
• CFormsII - cformsII offers unparalleled flexibility in deploying contact forms across your blog. It may be a little hard to configure but you can really do so much customization with it. If you’re looking for something simpler, try Contact Form 7
• WP Database Backup - don’t risk losing all your work! WP-DB-Backup allows you easily to backup your core Wordpress database tables. You may also backup other tables in the same database. Save to database, email or desktop.
• All in One SEO Pack - this plugin automatically optimizes your Wordpress blog for Search Engines (SEO: Search Engine Optimization)
• WP Super Cache - this robust plugin will increase the responsiveness of your website and reduce the server load. It works by caching your pages and storing them in a static file for serving future requests without querying the database. It is also built to handle sudden bursts in traffic.
• Google XML Sitemap Generator - the biggest advantage of using Wordpress is the manual work you save because the software already knows where all of your content is. This plugin is a huge boost to your SEO as it will generate a sitemaps.org compatible sitemap of your blog to Google, Yahoo, Ask.com, MSN Search every time you update your site.
• Akismet - spam is a huge problem for wordpress blogs. As soon as the search engines recognize your blog, you will start to receive spam in your comments. Akismet makes this a non-issue by checking your comments against the Akismet web service to see if they look like spam or not. It was created by Matt Mullenweg, the founder of WordPress.

A few more plugins deserving mention:

• Seth Godin’s First-time vs Returning Visitor - displays a custom welcome message to new visitors and another to return visitors.
• Wordpress Automatic Upgrade - wordpress automatic upgrade allows a user to automatically upgrade the wordpress installation to the latest one.
• Subscribe to Comments - this robust plugin enables commenters to sign up for e-mail notification of subsequent comment entries so you can keep track of the discussion.
• Lighter Admin Drop Menus - creates drop down menus for Wordpress admin panels so you can navigate to the page you want with one click. Fast to load, adaptable to color schemes, comes with silk icons and an options page.

Want more? Browse and search through the entire Wordpress plugins directory.

1. Who Else Wants [blank]?

Starting a headline with “Who Else Wants…” is a classic social proof strategy that implies an already existing consensus desire. While overused in the Internet marketing arena, it still works like gangbusters for other subject matter.

• Who Else Wants a Great Blog Template Design?
• Who Else Wants a Higher Paying Job?
• Who Else Wants More Fun and Less Stress When on Vacation?

2. The Secret of [blank]

This one is used quite a bit, but that’s because it works. Share insider knowledge and translate it into a benefit for the reader.

• The Secret of Successful Podcasting
• The Secret of Protecting Your Assets in Litigation
• The Secret of Getting Your Home Loan Approved

3. Here is a Method That is Helping [blank] to [blank]

Simply identify your target audience and the benefit you can provide them, and fill in the blanks.

• Here is a Method That is Helping Homeowners Save Hundreds on Insurance
• Here is a Method That is Helping Children Learn to Read Sooner
• Here is a Method That is Helping Bloggers Write Better Post Titles

4. Little Known Ways to [blank]

A more intriguing (and less common) way of accomplishing the same thing as “The Secret of…” headline.

• Little Known Ways to Save on Your Heating Bill
• Little Known Ways to Hack Google’s Gmail
• Little Known Ways to Lose Weight Quickly and Safely

5. Get Rid of [problem] Once and For All

A classic formula that identifies either a painful problem or an unfulfilled desire that the reader wants to remedy.

• Get Rid of Your Unproductive Work Habits Once and For All
• Get Rid of That Carpet Stain Once and For All
• Get Rid of That Lame Mullet Hairdo Once and For All

6. Here’s a Quick Way to [solve a problem]

People love quick and easy when it comes to solving a nagging problem.

• Here’s a Quick Way to Get Over a Cold
• Here’s a Quick Way to Potty Train Junior
• Here’s a Quick Way to Backup Your Hard Drive

7. Now You Can Have [something desirable] [great circumstance]

The is the classic “have your cake and eat it too” headline — and who doesn’t like that?

• Now You Can Quit Your Job and Make Even More Money
• Now You Can Meet Sexy Singles Online Without Spending a Dime
• Now You Can Own a Cool Mac and Still Run Windows

8. [Do something] like [world-class example]

Gatorade milked this one fully with the “Be Like Mike” campaign featuring Michael Jordan in the early 1990s.

• Speak Spanish Like a Diplomat
• Party Like Paris Hilton
• Blog Like an A-Lister

9. Have a [or] Build a [blank] You Can Be Proud Of

Appeal to vanity, dissatisfaction, or shame. Enough said.

• Build a Body You Can Be Proud Of
• Have a Smile You Can Be Proud Of
• Build a Blog Network You Can Be Proud Of

10. What Everybody Ought to Know About [blank]

Big curiosity draw with this type of headline, and it acts almost as a challenge to the reader to go ahead and see if they are missing something.

• What Everybody Ought to Know About ASP
• What Everybody Ought to Know About Adjustable Rate Mortgages
• What Everybody Ought to Know About Writing Great Headlines

By Brian Clark