Fun and Free

Sorry about the big gap between posts, but I found out my auto post to this blog wasn’t working! Anyway, it appears to be fixed now, so all I have to do is find all of my posts in My Documents and send them here. Here’s the first one.

Next, lets talk about adding a Wordpress blog to your website. It isn’t exactly easy, but it isn’t really difficult either. You just have to follow the (excellent) instructions at the Wordpress site. Now, you can just start your own blog on the Wordpress website, but you can’t customize it very easily or as much, and the content isn’t on your website, where you want it to be!
Your easiest solution is to use one of the web hosts that have “one-click” install of Wordpress. Some of them are listed here: Wordpress Affiliate Hosts . There are many others, and to find out if you are using one that does, simply go to your sites control panel and look for a Wordpress button on the main screen. Click it and follow the easy instructions, and you’ll be all set to blog in under 5 minutes. Unfortunately, my favorite cheap host, HostRoute, doesn’t yet have one-click available, but I have sent them a request to install it. However, they are capable of supporting your own installation of Wordpress. If your host doesn’t have Wordpress already set up to do one-click install, you need to go to the Wordpress website to download it (Make sure to get the zip version since you should already have the software to unzip it from when you got Filezilla). First, create a new file under “My Documents” called Wordpress to download it to. Then go get the software by clicking here: Wordpress Download. Make sure you also go to “installation instructions” on the same page, and download and print out the quick and the long instructions. Before you start, decide what you want to call your new blog area in general, i.e. blog, wordpress, rssnews, etc., and then think up a name and a description for your blog. For instance, if your website is about cats, you could call your blog “Small Cat Diary”, and your description could be ” The day to day antics of five nearly wild cats.” You might also pick a user name and password, although Wordpress will walk you through and give you your random password during set-up (Make sure to write it down exactly as it is on the screen!). Now, simply follow the instructions, step by step, and you will be up and blogging in less than 30 minutes.
When you first go to your log-in screen, save it in “Favorites” for future log-ins. If you lose it, the format is simply www.yourwebsitename.com/blog (or weblog, or rssnews or whatever you chose)/wp-login.php.
After you are set up, go back to Wordpress to download a new template and instructions for installing it, if you’d like. Check out the further instructions for modifying existing templates, and visit the forums to find out more info and research any problems you might have. I’ve installed Wordpress on two different websites, and so far (knock on wood) I haven’t had the first problem. If I can do this, so can you. So get started, start blogging for free, and remember to have fun with it!

Freebie Jack

If you’ve been working just a little on your website, and you’ve registerred a domain name and signed up for your free or cheap webhosting at Hostroute or 1&1, now all you need is a way to get your brand new site from your computer to your new online home.  The FTP utility I use is a freeware version that is reliable and really easy to use.  It’s called Filezilla, and you can download the latest version 2.2.25 by using the link below.  Make sure you remember where you downloaded the file!  I created a new folder under My Received Files and called it “Filezilla”.

Filezilla Download Link

Once you download the file, just unzip it (using WinZip, or download it here, if you don’t already have it), and follow the install instructions.  Then just open Filezilla by clicking on the desktop icon, click File, and choose Site Manager… from the menu.  In the Site Manager box input all of your sites info, name (www.yoursite.com), and the user name and password for your site.  This is usually set up by the web site provider, and you can then change your password to anything you’d like.  For Servertype, use FTP and under Logontype choose Normal.  The Port is usually 21, but Filezilla should find it for you.

Next, click the Connect button at the bottom of the box, and Filezilla will log you on to your website.  Find the file with your website in it in the left hand  top pane of the Filezilla screen (should be saved under My Documents/website or website name, whatever you chose) and open it by clicking on it.  The contents will be shown in the bottom left pane.  Now click on the public_html file in the right hand pane to open it.  Highlight all of the files in your website folder (click on top one and use down arrow while holding the shift key down to highlight all of them), then right click on the highlighted files and choose Upload from the menu.  All of your files will be automatically uploaded to your website.  Just make sure that your file for your main first page is named index.html, (hightlight it and rightclick on it to rename it, if necessary), and then disconnect (under File button on top row) and close Filezilla. 

Your new site should be up and running, and you can visit it by opening IE and typing in the address.  Make sure to check all of your links and buttons, to make sure they’re working, and start sending people to your new site!

Come back and visit, and we’ll talk about adding a Wordpress weblog (blog) to your new site, as well as some free ways to promote it.

Freebie

Where can you host your new site for Free or Cheap?

If you’ve been reading this blog, you now have a cheap registered domain name, plus you’ve downloaded some free software and begun to build your website. But now you need a cheap place to host it. One that might actually be free for you, if you play your cards right, would also be a good idea. I have 2 suggestions for you, and they are both good options.

1. This one requires a little more work, but it is the cheapest deal that might also lead to your hosting being free. First, go to GreenZap using the special link below, and sign up. For more on this, see this post. They’re a new payment processor (similar to the “Pal” one), but they want new members, so they’ll give you $50 in free webcash, if you sign up through the special page you can reach by using the GreenZap link below. Next, go to their “Storez” listing, pick the electronics category, and get your hosting from 1&1 Internet Web hosting. They’ll charge you $9.99 a month for a 3 website (3 different domain names) package with all the features you’ll need to make a really cool site. Plus, they’ll convert $40 of your webcash over to real cash, so a year only costs you less than $80. I chose this option myself, since I had 2 websites I wanted to host. See below, after option 2, to see what you can do with the other 2 sites. Even if you decide to use option 2, go to GreenZap and sign up now, anyway. You can use your free $50 to get rebates on all sorts of things, from hundreds of different merchants, like Starbucks, Circuit City, PetCo, etc.

GreenZap Link, Click Here.

Unfortunately, GreenZap has “gone under”, and is no longer doing business, but the option below is still a really great deal!

2. If you haven’t already got your web hosting set-up, go to link below and get it now. If you already have hosting, go here and transfer your account as soon as possible and you’ll save a lot of money and time. I recommend a fabulous service that gives you a FREE domain name - FREE web tools - FREE e-mail - and hosts 3 separate websites, when sign up for their smallest hosting package for only $9.00 a month! This is the ultimate web package to tell family, friends and business associates the latest happenings. They will show you how building a web site is fun and easy. Get your own Web Address now with a low price and satisfaction guarantee at this Site. I know you will find the service to be excellent, and while you’re there, check out their more advanced web hosting packages. And the cost for their HUGE package with unlimited domains is only $19.00 a month!. With any plan you also get access to an suite of web site building tools, including FREE templates, that you can use to supplement the pages you built using the free version of Web Weaver.

Now, to make this really cheap site free, all you have to do is sign up for the medium sized or large package, and “sell” a few of your extra sites to friends or relatives that may want or need them, for a really, really cheap price. Or advertise them for a good price on a few bulletin boards, and you should have no problem getting rid of the extras. Setting up your new clients is really easy in your control panel. You could easily sell these extras for $25-$50 a year. The cheapest price I’ve seen for one site with all of these extras anyplace besides this site is about $120 a year. You might even sell the space for more than 5 sites, and make money on the deal. I set up a few sites of my own, and then “gave away” my space for a site to my neighborhood civic association. I looked like a hero, and it still costs me less for my sites as it would have by registering them separately somewhere else!

So get going, get your website name registered, get your hosting and build your site, all in one place at this link. Click Here Very soon you’ll be live with a beautiful, cheap website of your own.

Freebie Jack