Should you use a custom domain? Should you use a free blog? They said WordPress is good, is it? What plugins should I use?
Blah blah blah…
So many questions. And there are a ton of answers too.
But here’s what I think…
Yes, you should use a custom domain (we already settled that in the first lesson). A custom domain is one that looks like this: http://www.yourname.com and not http://yourname.wordpress.com.
No, you shouldn’t use a free blog. You need one on your domain.
As for WordPress, I love it and use it. But that’s up to you. Or whoever is building your website.
However, before setting up your website, answer this question first:
- What’s my goal?
It’s something I always ask potential clients before closing the deal. Do you just want a website, or do you want to build a business out of it? Will you be marketing it? What do you want to sell on it?
Without answering that primary question, you’ll change your website multiple times…and you’ll never be satisfied.
If you have to do some Yoga and soul searching in order to get that answer, please do that.
Once you’ve been able to answer that, go to the next step…
- Purchase domain and website hosting from a good hosting company.
Here’s a list of hosting companies you can choose from: The Best Web Hosting Services for 2016
Now you might have an issue settling on a domain name (if you don’t have one). There are different options.
You can choose to use your name, like http://oprah.com. Or perhaps you could use the name of your company, like https://rathersure.com. Another option would be to choose something that explains what your website is about, like http://writersincharge.com.
- Once that’s done, install WordPress, that’s if you’re going the WordPress route, which I strongly advice.
It only takes about 10 minutes or less to get a WordPress site up.
Here’s a guide for that: How to Install WordPress – Complete WordPress Installation Tutorial
The only thing that takes time is customizing it to suit your taste. But that’s if your theme isn’t too good looking.
- Every website theme requires a specific set of plugins to function perfectly.
So here are basic plugins you should install, regardless of the theme you choose:
- Spam plugins like Akismet
- Security and performance plugins like Wordfence,
- SEO plugins like Yoast SEO
- Site management plugins like Jetpack.
And that’s basically it! We’ll discuss website themes in the next lesson and the 2 most important things to look out for when choosing a theme.
What do you think about WordPress? And what else would you like to know about setting up your website? Is this process too techy for you and you need serious help understanding it all? Let me know via email.