Domain Name News, Domaining Articles: How To Buy, Sell & Develop Domain Names

Over the years I’ve tested html, flash, php, open source solutions to test what works and what doesn’t. What I’ve learned is that nothing delivers better results than WordPress.  It took me a long time to appreciate and recommend WP to my clients and friends.  I was old school and preferred the old method of basic html.  Html webpages were easier to modify and publish at the time.  Flash Websites were also at one point in demand but never did well on search engine rankings.

When I discovered WordPress, I went through two years of trial and errors learning how to use and benefit from everything WordPress offered.  From quality backend control panel to well coded pages to post that rank well on search engines without SEO plugins; WordPress delivers it all!

WordPress delivers everything you want and the best part about it is that it’s free!

Installing WordPress doesn’t require you to have an IQ of 156.

The first and most important step before installing WordPress is to register a domain name for your new website! If you already own a domain name than your ahead of everyone else!

I’ve come across two companies this year, one in business since 1945 and the other since 1990; and neither one of them owned the rights to their dot com! Some companies just don’t get the importance of owning a dot com! Not dot org or dot net, DOT COM is the only solution when it comes to marketing and distribution!

The second step before setting up your WordPress website is to purchase the right web hosting service. Since GoDaddy is the largest registrar in the world and has more servers than most web hosting companies combined; than it would only make sense for you to user their domain name service and web hosting service.  Not to mention the 24 hour customer service that rates best in customer relations in my opinion versus the competition that takes days to reply back to your emails or phone calls!

At the end of this article I will post a list of discount codes that you should use to save 20-35% for web hosting and domain name registration.  Once you have a Domain Name and a Web Hosting Account linked, it will take 30 minutes or less to setup your new WordPress Website.

With most web hosting companies WordPress is one of the many free applications available for installation with a simple click of a button.  To get started, log into your webhosting account and scroll down to APPS and click on WordPress.

Click on Install and set the username and password.  Rule #1, never use the word “admin” as your username!  Most hackers and scumbags will attempt hacking your site using the username ADMIN or your business name or domain names keywords.  It’s crucial that you select a username unrelated to your WHO IS info, business title or domain name keywords!  Hackers will use anything that is available in the public forum to attempt to steal or hack your site.

Never use a free email service to manage your online services; GoDaddy offers email service to any customer who registers a domain name! Another good reason why GoDaddy is the leading domain name registrar on the World Wide Web.

Once you complete setting the username and password, the system will usually take 5 minutes to install your new website. Don’t forget to write down your username and password on your notepad document or text document.  With every new website you launch, create a text file that contains all the sensitive information! Save that file in the website folder on your hard drive and don’t publish that file ever on your webhosting server.

Once your WordPress website is ready and installed; you need to log in as administrator to make changes or publish pages/post.

Visit: www.YourDomainName.com/wp-admin

Type your domain name + /wp-admin and click Enter.

Log into your newly setup WordPress site to access the Dashboard Panel.

Before you setup any new pages or publish your first blog post, you need to setup and activate and edit the following settings.

Scroll down to “Settings” which is located on the left hand side of your screen “Dashboard Panel”.

Click on settings and wait for it to load up.  Most of the WordPress plugins you install will be accessible under Settings!

Under Settings, click on General: Set your site title and tagline. Make sure your email address is also the right email!

Spammers will attack your WordPress website with fake accounts so leave Membership unclicked. Scroll down to time zone and select the format you prefer to use.  Make sure to click on Save Changes when you are ready to move to the next step.

WordPress could be used either as a blog or static website or both!

Next, click on Reading under Settings: if you want your landing page aka homepage to be a static page than you need to create a page for the homepage before assigning the change in this window.  Otherwise the settings by default are set to display your blogs published post.  On my blog TorontoDomainer.com, my homepage displays my Domaining Articles, if you scroll down you will see that you have the option to set how many post you want displayed on your homepage. Click on Save Changes when you’re ready.

Click on Discussion under Settings: If you want people to post comments your blogs post or pages, make sure to select “Allow people to post comments on new articles ” and the following:

• Comment author must fill out name and e-mail
• Anyone posts a comment
• A comment is held for moderation
• An administrator must always approve the comment

Scroll down and select the Rating of your website: G, PG, R, X.

For avatar I always select “Don’t show Avatar”.  You decide what works for your or doesn’t.  Scroll down to the bottom and click on SAVE.

Under Settings click on Privacy; make sure your website is set to be indexed by search engines.

Under Settings click on Permalinks:  Change the common settings default selection to POST NAME. This will display all your pages and post titles url structure! This will approve search engine ranking! Scroll down and click on Save.

Congrats, you just completed the most important changes on your WordPress website.  Most users will not apply these changes thus resulting in poor search engine ranking / indexing.

WordPress by default pre-installs a sample blog post and comment.  Scroll up on your Dashboard Panel and click on POSTS. The page that loads up will display the sample post.  Select the post and under BULK ACTIONS select “Move to Trash” and click on APPLY.

Next, click on Categories which is located as a sub-link under Post; the default category needs to be changed to your business title.  Click edit under the category keyword and Save the changes.

Next, click on “Comments” and wait for the page to load up and select the published comment and move it to trash.

Next, click on LINKS and delete all the default links.

Congratulation you have deleted and assigned the most important changes to your new WordPress website. Your homepage will display an error message due to the fact that we removed the default published post, don’t be alarmed.

You have to decide now if you want to publish a static page or a blog post on your homepage.

To publish a static page on your homepage; you need to scroll up on your Dashboard Panel to PAGES and click on ADD PAGE. Set the title of the page and add the content + pictures; when you’re ready click on Publish.  You can publish as many as static pages you want, your typical small business website has about 5-8 pages.  You need to create a single static page for your homepage, when you have one ready make sure to apply the changes in Reading Settings!

Next, to publish a Post on your homepage scroll up to POST and click on ADD NEW; assign a title, write what you want to publish and make sure to select the default category and assign new categories based on what your publishing.  Make sure to also add important keywords from your content and title to the tags database.  Keyword and Category Tags are important for search engine ranking.  Don’t add keyword tags that are not mentioned in your title and content.  Select the top 10 keywords from your post and add them to the database. Tags/Category fields are on the right hand side of your page! Don’t publish your post until you have tags and categories added.

Your WordPress website by default will install a basic theme/template.  To change your WP theme; you need to either purchase a WordPress Template or take advantage of free themes that are available to install with a click of a button.

Under your Dashboard Panel scroll down to Appearance and click on Themes; click on “Install Themes”. When the page loads up it will give you numerous options in searching for a free WordPress theme.  You can either upload a purchased template or click on Featured, Newest, and Recently Updated links.  You also have the option to search for a free template using keyword or filtering it based on colors, columns, width, features or subject!

3^rd parties are always adding new themes and plugins on a daily basis; you can find almost anything you desire! Find the theme you like and Install it! It’s that simple! You can install as many as themes you like; but only one can be activated.

Under Sub-Appearance Settings you also have the option to make changes to your Menu and Widgets.

I wouldn’t play with the widgets and Menu until you have all your static pages published.  Widgets are a good tool to use to add custom solutions to your business or blog.

Titles of your static pages will display on your Menu, if you want to use a different title for your static pages and keep the original title than you need to create a Custom Menu!  It’s easy as 1 2 3!

WordPress plugins are very useful! It can be used to optimize your web pages or add custom solutions to your business needs.  From Social Networking Sharing tools to Live Sports News, WP Plugins deliver a lot of goodies! Before installing a WordPres plugin always make sure it’s compatible with your WordPress version.

I’ve covered the most important settings you need to apply when you setup a WordPress website.  On my next WordPress Article I’ll discuss what Widgets and Plugins you need to install!

Here’s the discount codes I promised for anyone who needs to register a dot com or purchase web hosting.

• 35% GoDaddy Discount Code (Domain Name Registration) – Click Here
• 20% off New 12+mo Hosting plans! – Click Here
• Register a .com for $1.99 – Click Here
• .CO.UK domains just $2.69 – Click Here
• .CA Domains only $12.99 – Click Here
• Find, Buy & Sell Domain Names – Click Here
• Premium WordPress Themes – Click Here
• Unlimited Web Hosting $1.99 a month – Click Here

Until my next Web Development Article, Happy Domaining!